Echizen, Our Buchou
by Gwynhafra
Summary: A year had passed, and all the third year regulars have already graduated. The remaining regulars are now led by Echizen Ryoma, the new captain appointed by Tezuka, and Momoshiro Takeshi, the vicecaptain Oishi chose. How will Ryoma manage the club?TezuRyo
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own POT. I wish I own Ryoma and Tezuka though, but I don't. Sob…**

**Warnng: May contain spoilers for the manga. Would have quite a number of OCs in this fic.**

**Pairings: It depends on who you vote for. This fanfic could either be Ryoma X Sakuno or Tezuka X Echizen. **

**Title: Echizen, Our Buchou**

Chapter 1

"Ohayou! Sakuno. We're sophomores now, aren't you glad?" Tomoka greeted.

A girl, with long red hair flowing down her back, turned to her friend and smiled. "I sure am. It was a lot of fun during the holidays, but it's good to be back to school."

"Ah. I wonder who my new classmates are. I do hope we're in the same class again this year. We'll be the best Ryoma-sama fanclub in class!"

Sakuno sweatdropped. After a year had passed, she really felt that Tomo-chan's idea of a fanclub was way too childish. Not to mention embarrassing. She did like Ryoma a lot though, especially after seeing his performance in the Nationals. Ryoma had already reached the level of his father, the legendary Samurai Echizen. No, considering Ryoma's age, he had a chance to even surpass his father.

"Ne, Sakuno. Are you going to be joining the girl's tennis club this year as well?" Tomoka suddenly asked.

Sakuno gave a smile. "Of course. After Seigaku's victory last year, I do not want to lose out to the senpais of both the girls and boys teams. I've already asked obaa-chan to train me during the holidays. I would do my very best this year to get into the regulars."

Tomoka grinned. "I'll be aiming for the regulars' spot too. Don't expect me to go easy on you just because you're my best friend."

"It wouldn't be nice even if I got the spot because you went easy on me."

Right at that moment, they heard a lot of voices chattering excitedly behind them.

Boy 1: "So cool! I can't believe I made it into Seishun Gakuen. Did you know, their Seigaku Tennis Club won the first place in the Nationals last year?"

Boy 2: "Oh? Are you talking about _the_ Seigaku Tennis Club? All of them were so cool! I've collected every single newspaper and magazine clippings about them.

Boy 3: "I do hope I can join the tennis club. Hey! Maybe I can even become a regular."

Boy 1: "Yeah! They had a freshman who was in the Regulars last year. Who knows, we might be able to become his friends!"

Tomoka, who was listening intently to the freshmen's conversations, had a hard time biting down a laugh. If only they knew just how "friendly" that ex-freshman was. Still, it was a good thing that so many of the freshmen were eager to join Seigaku Tennis Club

"Senpai-tachi!" one of the boys called out suddenly, bringing both Sakuno and Tomoka to a halt.

"Yes?" Sakuno enquired.

Three freshmen stared up at her. "May we ask where the tennis courts are?"

"Just go straight, then go left. You should see the courts on your right."

"Urm…Sakuno…" Tomoka began.

"Alright! Thank you so much, senpai." The three sped off.

"S-Sakuno…why did you give them directions to the girl's toilet?" Tomoka asked.

Sakuno gave a gasp. What has she done now?

Her question was answered when a few loud squeals came from the girl's toilets, as well as a few shouts of "Perverts!"

"Ohayou, you two." A cheery voice greeted.

Both girls turned to see Momoshiro cycle over to them.

"Ah. Momo-chan senpai. Ohayou!" Both of them greeted.

Momoshiro rubbed the back of his head. "Just call me Momo-chan will do. What's all that commotion up ahead? What's with them saying 'pervert?'"

Both Tomoka and Sakuno gave a weak laugh. "It's nothing serious." Tomoka said.

Momoshiro looked as if he wanted to go ahead and check out what was going on, but decided against it and merely gave a shrug, much to Sakuno and Tomoka's relief. What if the three boys let slip that it was thanks to Sakuno's usual bad sense of direction that caused the current fiasco at the girl's loo.

The third year took a peek at his watch and gave a yelp. "Oh dear! I have to go to the courts now. I can't be late. That would set such a bad example to the juniors. By the way, has any of you seen Echizen?"

Both girls shook their heads, causing Momoshiro to sigh.

"Don't tell me that boy wants to be late on his first day as…"

"You're in my way…Fshhh…" A low voice growled.

Kaidou pinned a glare at his sworn enemy. Momoshiro too forgot the girls as he got off his bike and rolled up his sleeves. "Oh, you want to fight, Mamushi?"

Both of them started yet another fight, causing a lot of the students walking through the school gate to stop and stare. A few first years looked intimidated.

"Momo-senpai…Kaidou-senpai…people are starting to stare…" Sakuno started, but with all their quarelling, it was highly unlikely they could hear her.

Fortunately, Tomoka was not as meek as her best friend was, so she took in a deep breath and…

"YOU TWO! STOP IT THIS INSTANT! ESPECIALLY YOU, MOMO-SENPAI! WHAT KIND OF EXAMPLE ARE YOU GIVING TO THOSE WHO MIGHT WANT TO JOIN THE TENNIS CLUB?!"

Once she had finished, she merely took a deep breath to replenish all the oxygen used and folded her arms, while Momoshiro and Kaidou looked at her, their eyes wide with surprise.

"That's right, Momoshiro. Kaidou. You are both third years now. Echizen was already in school a long time ago, helping me with some work. I think he'll deal with the both of you later, once he hears of this." Ryusaki-sensei spoke up suddenly.

Both the third year regulars gulped. As one, both immediately turned accusing eyes towards each other, causing Ryusaki to sigh. After a year had passed, they still haven't changed at all.

"Honestly, you two… By the way, aren't the both of you running a little _late_ for tennis practice?"

Momoshiro glanced down at his watch, gave a yelp and got on his bike again. "5 minutes past 8. We can't have that now…we can't have that!" He sped off.

Kaidou gave a scowl. "Don't think that you can reach the courts before me just because you're cycling. Fshh…!" he began running after Momo.

With that, only the ladies were left with one another.

"Obaa-chan. You said that Ryoma-kun was here already?" Sakuno questioned curiously.

Her grandmother chuckled. "Surprised huh? It's really rare for him to be early. Even with that strict Tezuka around last year, he was occasionally punctual for practices, but never early. I'd say he took Tezuka's parting words to heart."

"Kyaa! I can't wait to see Ryoma-sama again. He would still be as cute as ever!"

This time, Ryusaki had trouble hiding a smile. "I wonder if cute is an appropriate word to describe him…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey there, first years! Come and try out this challenge!" a third year brunette called out.

A number of curious freshmen gathered inside the tennis courts, staring down at the can on the floor.

"It would be a hundred yen each time you hit the can! It's easy! Would you like to give it a shot?" Arai asked, going into his 'conman mode'

A few of the first years whispered excitedly amongst themselves. All they had to do was hit the can and they could have some nice, steaming prize money? It was too good to be true.

Meanwhile, at one end of the court, the three little pigs-Horio, Kachiro and Katsuo looked at Arai with disgust.

"He gets a kick out of bullying freshies, doesn't he?" Katsuo frowned.

"To think that we were tricked too, last year. Arai-senpai is getting all arrogant again now that our captain and vice-captain are nowhere in sight. Then again, we can't really complain much. Now that all of our third year ex-regulars have graduated, he will most likely be in the regulars this year. I do hope we can manage to get some new talents in the next selection." Kachiro said thoughtfully.

Horio puffed out his chest. "Well. With my three years of tennis experience, getting into the regulars should be easy!"

Both his friends threw him a long suffering look. There he goes again…and he had never scored even a point against the old regulars. Heck, in fact, in friendly practices, both during school days and during the holidays, he has never won against Kachiro and Katsuo themselves either. What kind of tennis experience was he having all these times?

Meanwhile, back to Arai

"Oh? Are we done already? Only a few of you managed to hit the can…once…or twice. Oh, I forgot to mention…" He turned the can around and surely enough, his 'hidden rules' were written all over the other side of it.

"For each ball you hit, as long as you don't strike the can, you have to pay five hundred yen. My, my. Even with you hitting the can a few times, the number of times you missed far exceeds the number of times you hit. All of you, pay up now!" he had trouble hiding the glee in his voice.

"That's not fair! You did not tell us about the rules just now!" a few protested.

A few more grumbled, but rummaged into their pockets to pay up for the 'fee', as they fully fell for Arai's rule.

Before Arai could receive any of their payments, however, a tennis ball shot past, hitting the can with the force of a bomb, crushing the can completely and causing the stones hidden in the can to scatter all over the floor. The shot had also caused the can to hit the fence, where it was tightly wedged there.

"DUNNN!"

"Ah. The fukubuchou is finally here!" the three little pigs cried out happily.

Momoshiro towered over Arai, having gained more than a few inches during the holidays.

"Bullying freshmen again, are you? You can't do that eh, you can't do that." Seigaku's vice-captain frowned.

Arai whimpered, while the 1st years were sharing information amongst each other.

"Hey! I've seen that guy in the magazines before! Isn't he Momoshiro Takeshi, the one with his super skill Dunk Smash?"

"So he's our vice captain? That's so cool!"

Arai was apologizing to both Momoshiro and the first years he had tricked, after the vice-captain had ordered him to do so, of course. "By the way, to start off the new semester, you will do ten rounds around the court." Momoshiro ordered. Arai scowled, but went to run his rounds all the same.

Horio was the first to be by Momoshiro's side. "Fukubuchou Momo-chan senpai! Ohayou!" he greeted.

Momoshiro wrinkled his nose. "That sounded too weird. Just call me Momo-chan will do. Have any of you seen Echizen?"

"Not at all. We're looking for him too." Kachiro said.

Momoshiro sighed. He looked up and turned his attention to the members.

"Second years and third years, you may have a free practice session now. Feel free to use courts A, B and C. First years and second years who are interested in joining the tennis club, registrations are in Court D." Momoshiro announced.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In Court D, Kaidou and another third year Keita were handling the registrations. Many of the students came to sign up, all eager after seeing how well Seigaku performed last year.

One first year came up to Kaidou's booth. "I…would like to hand in my form." The student said meekly.

Kaidou looked up and pinned him with a glare. (Not intentionally of course. He was just born with a scary face) "Fshh…" he reached out for the student's form.

"Eep! I'm so sorry! I won't be disturbing you again!" the student, thinking that Kaidou was trying to throttle him, sped off to queue at Keita's side instead.

So it was, in Court D, there was a long line waiting to join the tennis club…at happy-go-lucky Keita's booth only though. A few who were brave enough handed in their registration form to Kaidou, who had a rather short queue at his side. Occasionally, Kaidou even used his bandanna to swat flies buzzing around from the lack of people.

As two hours passed, however, more of the students were convinced that Kaidou wouldn't bite, and decided to join the queue at his booth. The three freshmen (who were the victims of Sakuno's disastrous direction giving) were amongst those in this queue as well.

"Say, Sora. Do you think we could find that Echizen in the club today?" Reno asked.

"Ah. That short freshman last year who made it into the regulars?" Sora enquired.

"He is so cool! To think that he made it into the regulars in his first year. That has never happened before! I wonder how someone that short could play so well?"

A shadow fell over that boy, causing him to stiffen.

"Hmm? So you think that being short is a handicap to playing tennis?"

Both Kaidou and Keita looked up from their paperwork at the voice.

"Buchou!"

To be continued…

A/N: Finally done with chappie one! stretches.

This would be my first pot fanfic posted. Please read and review. Also, please vote for which pairing you would prefer, Ryoma with Sakuno OR Tezuka. (I am not writing Ryoma with Sakuno AND Tezuka. He's not such a playboy. XD)

Would be counting the votes after some time, and the next chapter would depend on whichever pairing gets the most votes, so be sure to review and vote.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. Wish I could have all the boys in my harem though. Sob…

**Warning: Contains spoilers for the latest manga episodes.**

**(This chapter is followed by Chapter 1 in Life After Seigaku)**

A/N: I went to check the votes this afternoon (11th of November) and was quite pleased that there were 13 reviews so far, just three days after I published this fanfic. **A thousand thanks to all who reviewed.**

Also, regarding the results of whether this fanfic would end up Tezuka X Echizen or Ryoma X Sakuno, I am proud to say that…

Tezuka X Echizen--8 votes

Ryoma X Sakuno--4 votes.

Omedetou gozaimasu! Tezuka Kunimitsu!

**Sakuno**: R-Ryoma kun…

**Tezuka**: (Grabs Ryoma and clings the boy to himself, giving Sakuno a look that says "HE'S MINE!")

**Gwynhafra a.k.a Authoress**: (clears throat) However, since I only counted three days' worth of votes, it's kind of too soon to tell. So this fic would start off with flashbacks (it would have started off with flashbacks even if Sakuno had won), and Ryoma would favour Tezuka since he's the winner. This chapter would still be quite neutral, meaning that Sakuno still has a chance, depending on the votes to come.

(Tezuka's jaw dropped, while Sakuno cheers. Ryoma merely pulls down his cap. "Mada Mada Dane…")

**Gwynhafra a.k.a Authoress: **Pairings would be set in Chapter 3 onwards though, and by then, even if you spam the reviews section with votes, it would no longer count.

Alright. So sorry for the long A/N. Now to the story…

**Title: Echizen, Our Buchou**

Chapter 2

_**A year ago**_

"_Game and match, won by…Echizen! 7 games to 6!" The referee finally announced after nearly 2 minutes had passed since the ball hit the ground, since his jaw had hit the ground as well and he needed time to pick it back up._

_For a long while, everyone had yet to recover from what they had just witnessed in the match. Echizen stood in the court, with his racket still held firmly in his hand. There was a kind of aura that had been surrounding him, ever since he had finally reached the unopened door,' the Pinnacle of Perfection', just in time to beat his opponent. _

_Finally, life came back to the audience as a loud cheer rang through the stadium. "We won! We won the Nationals!" Horio exclaimed, while Tomoka and Sakuno hugged each other and were screaming themselves hoarse. Everyone stood on their feet as loud applause rang through the air._

_Ryoma turned to look at his opponent. The Seigaku freshman was still in his 'awakened' state, and his eyes were slightly narrowed, not wide like the normal Ryoma's. "You still have…a long way to go." He spoke in perfect English._

_His opponent, Kintarou, who was known for his violent ways of playing, and who was speculated to reach the Pinnacle of Perfection before Ryoma ever would, gave a loud cry and lunged at the green-haired freshman._

_Fortunately, all the players of his school Shitenhouji came to restrain him. The Seigaku regulars too came to defend Ryoma, with Tezuka himself standing before the boy protectively._

_Kintarou was like a wild animal, snarling and clawing in Ryoma…or Tezuka's direction, since Ryoma was hidden behind his captain. Such was his refusal to accept his loss. Shitenhouji's captain, Kuranosuke, took a step forward and slowly undid the bandages on his hand._

_That calmed the red-headed freshman down, as the idiot still believed that his captain's hand could release poison._

_(A/N: explanation for this would be done at the end of the page, though it would contain a lot of spoilers for the manga. Strictly for those who love spoilers only)_

_Once Kuranosuke was sure that his freshman wouldn't go berserk again, he turned to Tezuka and bowed._

"_I apologize for my 1st-year's behaviour. He has never tasted defeat before, and this must have been a very harsh blow to him."_

_Tezuka was as expressionless as always, even though it was Seigaku that won. He merely nodded. "I understand. There is nothing to apologize for, as Echizen is unhurt."_

_The two captains shook hands, causing cheers to erupt from the audience again._

_Shitenhouji's Chitose, who had reached the Pinnacle of Great Wisdom during the match against Fudoumine, shook his head and gave a smile to Tezuka._

"_It seems that I have been mistaken when I said that Kintarou would reach the highest level of self-actualization before Samurai Junior would. I have underestimated that boy's potential. You were right in putting your faith in that boy."_

_He gave a slight bow to Tezuka and Ryoma, then left with his teammates._

_Apart from Ryoma and Tezuka, who were the only ones listening to Chitose, the others were too busy celebrating their victory. Ryoma blinked and shook his head, finally coming out of his state of self-actualization._

"_Buchou…we won, didn't we?" he asked, his eyes wide and innocent, an indication that he was back as the normal Ryoma._

_Tezuka stared down at the boy, and even though there had been no change in his expression, and neither did he say anything, Ryoma was somehow able to read him._

_A happy smile spread over Ryoma's face. He stared at the retreating backs of the Shitenhouji players. "Mada mada dane." He said._

_To his surprise, Tezuka suddenly wrapped his arms around him. Ryoma froze on the spot, not knowing how to react as:_

_1. He was not a touchy-feely person, and would have been stunned even if it had been his mother who hugged him._

_2. Tezuka was not a touchy-feely person either, so what could possibly prompt that wooden block of a captain to act this way?_

"_Thank you…Echizen…thank you." Tezuka's voice was slightly choked up with emotions._

_Ryoma then realized that Tezuka must have been very stressed out during the entire match and he must be acting this way out of relief._

_The prodigy relaxed slightly, patting his captain on the back. "It had been your dream, no, Seigaku's dream to achieve our goal in the Nationals, hadn't it. As you had chosen me for Seigaku's pillar of support, how could I let you down?" _

_Tezuka released Ryoma from his embrace, and instead held the boy's shoulder with his usual expressionless mask, though Ryoma could have sworn that he saw a ghost of a smile flit past even if it was for only a second._

"_I knew that you would be a great source of support for Seigaku. You have really earned the position from me, as you have promised. I can't be any prouder of you."_

_Ryoma's face flushed from pride…and embarrassment. He hurriedly pulled down his cap to hide his face._

"_Hoi! Hoi! Tezuka! What are you are Ochibi doing there?" Kikumaru just had to choose that moment to hop up to them._

_They hurriedly broke apart, and Tezuka pinned the clueless Kikumaru with a glare. Ryoma pulled his cap lower, to the point that he might as well have just worn it on his face. "Betsuni." He mumbled._

_Thanks to Kikumaru's yells, the other regulars had their attention focused on the two as well. While most of them did not think too much about it, Inui had just flipped open his notebook, his glasses glinting, and Fuji was giving a catlike, knowing smile. Oishi dragged Kikumaru away from the captain and first year, having somewhat sensed a different sort of atmosphere from the two._

_Tezuka felt rather uneasy at the stares the data expert and the tensai were giving him. He mentally hit himself for the slip of control that made him hug his junior. While Ryoma was under the impression that Tezuka was simply grateful for the victory, to Tezuka, it was actually something else that was completely unrelated to the Nationals, and had to do with the boy himself instead._

_He decided to change the subject. "Good work, all of you. Thanks to all your efforts, we have achieved our dreams and have finally won the Nationals. Seigaku is now the best amongst all the junior high teams in Japan."_

_Kikumaru cheered at that, while his doubles' partner smiled happily. Even the bitter rivals Kaidou and Momoshiro were congratulating each other…well…in their own kind of way. ("Heh. You're not so bad after all, Mamushi." "And you're as terrible as always. Just that the opponents were worse. Fshh…" "What did you say, Mamushi? Are you trying to start a fight?" "Fshh…!")_

_This was then followed by Kawamura and Fuji trying to pacify the two second-years, while Inui was jotting down more data._

_Tezuka glanced down as Ryoma touched his arm lightly._

"_Buchou. I believe they're looking for us. It's almost time for the prize giving, isn't it?" He stated. _

_Tezuka stared down at the boy, and this time, the smile really appeared on his face, causing Ryoma to stare stupidly at the captain for a while before getting back to his senses._

"_Yes. I suppose we have to go now." Tezuka looked around to all his fellow Seigaku members. "Everyone! It's now time for the prize giving ceremony. Let's go, and don't let your guard down."_

_With that, Kawamura held Seigaku's flag up high, and all of them walked to the centre of the stadium amidst chants of "Seigaku! Fight-oh!"_

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

_The months had then passed by, and soon, it was Seigaku's last practice session together. Three days later, the third years would all be graduating, and the holidays would be starting not too long after that._

_Tezuka stood with his arms folded, giving everyone a stern stare. Beside him, Oishi clapped his hands twice to get everyone's attention._

"_Members! Assemble at once!" Tezuka gave the order._

_Immediately all of the tennis club members got in line neatly, according to their years. Seigaku's regulars formed a line before Tezuka, as always._

"_As you all know, today will be our last day together. I wish to thank all of you for your support. Thanks to everyone, we have managed to get into the Nationals, and even won it. I hope that you will carry Seigaku's fighting spirit in you, even after we third years have left this school."_

_Ryoma kept his attention focused on the captain while Tezuka made his speech. At Tezuka's final sentence, he felt a sort of heavy feeling settle in his heart. True, he didn't give it much thought that someday all of the third years would be leaving. It seemed like it was only just yesterday when he joined the regulars, getting to know Kikumaru, Oishi, Inui, Fuji, Kawamura…and Tezuka-buchou. He had gotten so used to their presence; he had forgotten that they were all going to leave._

_Now it was Oishi's turn to give his speech. By then, Ryoma's mind was already tuned away from reality, and he was trying to imagine what the days would be like in the future, without all his senpais even in the tennis matches. For some reason, the captain kept popping up in his mind. Strict, yet calm Tezuka. What would it be like without his leadership? For some reason, the thought of Seigaku tennis club without Tezuka made Ryoma sad, and he was puzzled about that feeling._

_He blinked as he came back to reality, and nearly jumped when he realized that said captain had been studying him for some time already. Did Tezuka see him space out? Oh crap! Oishi had finished his speech and Ryoma had not heard a word that he said! Maybe he would have to run laps on his last day._

_Tezuka did not say anything, and turned away from Ryoma when he noticed the Cheshire cat-grin on Fuji's face getting wider._

_Oishi cleared his throat before continuing. "Alright! The captain and I will now renounce our positions, as we would be graduating. We have our successors in mind. Tezuka?" he indicated for the captain to speak._

_Tezuka stared at Ryoma for the briefest moment before looking back at all the members._

"_For the position of Captain of the Seigaku Tennis Club, I have selected Echizen Ryoma to take over my post."_

_No objections there as everyone applauded. Ryoma had been expecting something like this, seeing that Tezuka was dropping hints throughout the year. Still, he couldn't help but feel slightly uneasy at this new responsibility. "Usu." He gave his usual reply for 'yes'_

_Momoshiro, who was standing on Ryoma's right, thumped him on the back. "Not bad, Echizen. I knew he was going to say that. You have been quite his favourite this year. Kyaa…I'm kinda jealous, but I think you'll be a great captain." _

_Fuji, who was on Ryoma's left, leaned over to Ryoma's side slightly. "Well then, Echizen-kun. Tezuka must think very highly of you to give you that post. I wonder what do you think of him?"_

_Ryoma didn't know how to reply to that. Yes, he was rather fond of Tezuka, who had taught him so much, had given him back his fighting spirit in tennis, and had taught him the true meaning of responsibility by asking him to be Seigaku's pillar. But what did Ryoma really think about Tezuka? Even he couldn't quite put a finger on his thoughts about Tezuka yet._

_Oishi spoke up next, once the applause had settled down. "As for my position, the position of Vice-captain of Seigaku, I find that the best person to fit this is Momoshiro Takeshi."_

"_Eh??" Momoshiro exclaimed, not expecting that at all._

_For Ryoma's case, everyone had predicted it. But nobody thought that Momoshiro would become Vice-captain. Still, everyone applauded all the same. Even Ryoma, who was more than happy that his best friend was chosen. Horio, Kachiro and Katsuo's cheers were among the loudest._

_Momoshiro was still in a state of disbelief. He looked like he was about to protest, until a hiss brought his attention to his bandanna wearing rival. "You're not too afraid of this, are you?" Kaidou challenged._

_That effectively wiped out any doubt left in the dunk smash player's head. "I accept that position! I will become a vice-captain who is a good as Oishi-senpai was!" he bellowed._

_Oishi chuckled as Momoshiro and Kaidou were now locked in a silent glaring competition. Tezuka frowned at them, but decided to let them be. "Alright. That's all for today. You're all dismissed." He announced._

_With that, everyone separated to go on their own ways. Ryoma headed to the locker rooms. A sense of weariness overcame him at the thought of not being able to see his senpais any more. He took his time to gather his things, feeling that he wanted to remain there for a longer time. If he went home, the last day would be over, and he did not want it to end. _

_Kikumaru, Fuji, Kawamura and Oishi came into the locker room as well, with Kikumaru and Oishi chatting happily about which high school they were going to. Ryoma did not really notice them, as he had been too busy brooding. Eventually, all of them left, and Ryoma was left sitting alone in the locker room._

_He did not bother looking up when someone entered the room again, that was, until the person stood right in front of him._

"_Were you that troubled by my decision to make you captain?" _

_Ryoma looked up to see that Tezuka was studying him, and the usually stoic face of Seigaku's ex-captain had an expression of worry. "Buchou…" he muttered._

_Tezuka came to sit beside the boy, setting down his bag._

_Ryoma stared down at his can of Ponta, which was still unopened, and was no longer chilled considering how long he had been sitting there._

"_Buchou…was it really a wise idea to pick me as captain?" he voiced out his fears._

_Tezuka couldn't help smiling. It reminded him of when Yamato-Buchou had picked him as captain. He had gotten cold feet as well, wondering if he would be able to do a good job._

"_I have no doubt about it, Echizen. When you first came to the club, you were unlike any other first year I've seen, with such outstanding skills you could even fight against adults. However, you lacked the spirit and determination to win, as all you thought about was beating your father in tennis."_

_Tezuka paused a while before continuing. "You have changed. In just a year you have grown to become one who loves tennis for what it is, and not just to beat a single person. You have also learnt what the meaning of responsibility is, seeing how you were so determined to not let your teammates down during all the matches. I have faith in you, that you will become a great captain. You should have more confidence in yourself as well."_

_Ryoma turned to look at Tezuka, mildly surprised at the seriousness in his voice. Tezuka was giving him a look that plainly said what the captain felt for his junior and Ryoma felt his face go rather hot. Tezuka's hand touched his, and Ryoma could feel his hand being held in a reassuring way, feeling all his anxiety about being captain slip away. They sat together in silence. Tezuka was not one to speak too much, and neither was Ryoma. In this way, they were almost the same, and understood what each other was thinking, with no words needed._

"_I'll be leaving Seigaku to you then, Echizen." Tezuka finally broke the silence._

"_Usu." Ryoma gave his reply, gently squeezing Tezuka's hand._

_:End of Flashback:_

Back to the present

"Buchou!"

The three freshmen turned around to find themselves staring at a _tall_ second year wearing a cap. The sophomore's golden eyes were looking down in amusement at the three cowering boys.

"We…we're so sorry about that statement! We didn't mean anything about it!" The three hurriedly bowed.

Seigaku's captain folded his arms. "Be careful of what you say from now onwards. I might make you run laps." Ryoma smirked. He strode off to take a look at the lists of new members, and was quite pleased by the number of people joining the tennis club.

"For new members who have registered, note that tennis practice sessions are on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday of every week. Your first practice would start this Wednesday." With that, Ryoma spun around and left to Court A.

The three freshmen looked in awe at their captain.

"That is Echizen Ryoma, isn't it? He's so cool! How did he grow so tall?"

"So Echizen is our buchou? Seigaku would definitely get into the Nationals again this year!"

Ryoma scowled. Those three were talking so loudly, he could hear them even though he was already out of Court D. As he walked towards Court A, he could see Kachiro, Katsuo and Horio seemingly enjoying themselves, with Horio paired up with Arai, and Kachiro paired up with Katsuo. Both Kachiro and Katsuo had grown their hair out during the holidays, so it was no longer as short as it was in their first year.

By the looks of it, those two must have been practicing, as Horio was sent flying all over the court to retrieve their shots. Arai was getting to be very good as well, and managed to score quite a few points against the two sophomores. Still, when third-year Tsun announced the score, Arai-Horio pair lost to Kachiro-Katsuo pair, 6 games to 3. Ryoma walked past, making a mental note to himself.

Finally, he reached court A, and saw that his vice-captain was practicing with some third year students. Momoshiro was obviously holding back his real power, as he was just playing for the fun of it. Still, none of the third years could win him.

Ryoma sighed. At this rate, how were they going to replace the regular members. It would not be easy, considering apart from himself, Momoshiro and Kaidou, none of them were really showing potential. Ryoma had to find some hidden talents amongst the members. He pushed open the door and walked in, standing in a corner quietly to observe.

Momoshiro served the next ball. As he threw the ball up into the air, he caught sight of Ryoma by accident. He was so surprised he completely forgot the ball, and thanks to gravity, the ball flew back down and hit him on the nose.

Momoshiro grumbled. "Sai! You will be playing against him now." He announced. He marched up to Echizen.

"Ohayou, Momo-senpai." The captain greeted his best friend.

Momoshiro was giving Ryoma a once-over. "My goodness! I haven't seen you in a while and you are no longer a chibi! You sure have changed a lot!"

Ryoma scowled. "I was not that short last year. Besides, I suppose I have to thank Inui-senpai's strict milk diet for this."

Momoshiro chuckled. At the moment, Ryoma was still a few heads shorter than he was. As for Momoshiro, he was taller than Inui-senpai already.

"Momo-senpai. It will be best to allow all members to leave now. Classes will be starting in an hour's time. They will need to get ready."

"Very well. (raises voice) Everybody, please assemble now!"

As all the members hurriedly assembled, Ryoma noticed that the new members were looking at him curiously.

"I would like to welcome all new members to Seigaku tennis club. It is a whole new year for all of us, and I hope to see everyone do their best. Let's aim for the Nationals this year too." Ryoma said.

He nodded to Momoshiro, who spoke up next. "That's all for today's practice. Dismiss!"

With that, everyone hurriedly left to see which were their new classes.

Ryoma was already here earlier, and knew which class he was going to be in, so he was in no rush as he took his time to change and keep his rackets. Deciding he still had some time to have a short talk with Ryusaki-sensei regarding what they had been discussing about in the morning, he made his way to the staff office.

As he turned around a corner, he could hear the sound of someone hitting a tennis ball against the wall repeatedly…

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Earlier that day, during practice, Sakuno was delighted to hear Serika-buchou say that she had the chance to enter the regulars, as she had improved a lot, and was showing potential to be as good as her grandmother's.

She was rather disappointed when she lost to Tomoka in their practice session, 6 games to 4. Still, Serika-buchou assured her that all she needed was more practice.

With that in mind, she decided to do a few more strokes after they were dismissed.

"Your grip on the racket has improved, and your shots are getting to be more accurate. You still need to relax your knees though. Also, you need to train your footwork." A male voice said.

Sakuno turned to the person speaking, recognizing Ryoma immediately. However, seeing how much he had grown, she blushed as a word shot though her head.

_Bishonen!_

Ryoma's green hair was longer, and was now touching his shirt collar. His golden eyes were no longer wide like a boy's, but slightly more narrowed, like a young man's, and still held the same pride and arrogance in them.

"R-Ryoma-kun." She greeted, feeling shy all of a sudden.

Ryoma gave a small smile, causing the poor girl to melt instantly.

"Ohayou, Sakuno. It's good to see you again after the holidays. You look better with your hair tied like this." He indicated to the single ponytail at the back of her head. Back in her first year, she had tied her hair in two braids. Ryoma had to admit that she had grown more beautiful, and would most probably become like Ryusaki-sensei in her younger days. (Ryoma had seen the pics in his dad's photo album before, and had given an exclamation of disbelief)

"Erm. It's good to see you too, Ryoma-kun." She blushed at his compliment.

Ryoma adjusted the strap of his bag, allowing Sakuno some time to compose herself before turning his attention back to her.

"I was on my way to meet Ryusaki-sensei. I would have to take my leave now. Was hoping to have a talk with her before class starts. Ja ne."

He gave a wave and walked off.

Sakuno was having an inner battle at the moment, as she stared at him walking further away. She had been thinking about it throughout the holidays, and decided to gather up her courage.

"A-ano…Ryoma-kun!" She jogged up to him.

Ryoma halted in his steps and turned to look at her.

"What is it?" he asked.

Sakuno took in a deep breath to calm her nerves.

"I…was wondering…is-it-alright-if-I-walk-home-with-you-today?" she said the last part with a sudden burst, causing Ryoma to blink in surprise.

He seemed to have caught her words though. He merely gave a shrug. "It's fine with me." He stated calmly.

Sakuno's eyes shone with delight at the reply, even though his voice had been emotionless, as usual.

"Alright then! I'll see you later!" she practically danced on the spot.

Ryoma gave her an amused look before continuing on to Ryusaki's office. He hoped that she would change her mind about what they had discussed this morning, or Seigaku might be in trouble…

To be continued

A/N: So sorry that this chappie is so long. Well, keep voting for your favourite pairing, as you may be able to turn the tide around for Sakuno. Note that the next chapter would be the final decision.

**NOTE THAT FROM THIS POINT ON THERE WOULD BE LOTS OF SPOILERS FOR THE LATEST MANGA CHAPTERS. DO NOT READ ON IF YOU HATE SPOILERS…**

Actually, if you've read the manga, Seigaku fought against Shitenhouji in the SEMI-FINALS. But in this story, I made it that Seigaku fought them in the finals, so by winning against them, they have won the Nationals.

Kintarou is a red-headed, Ryoma look-alike that appears even in the OVA. He gives me the impression of a rather wild brat, albeit highly idiotic. Rather violent, and would not think twice when beating someone out, as he KO'ed a bunch of bikers in one of the chapters. The only way to tame him, it seems, is his captain's 'poisonous hands'.

Kuranosuke seems to take advantage of Kintarou's stupidity, and as he had bandaged hands (don't know why it's bandaged), whenever he needed to calm Kintarou down, he would pretend to undo the bandages and threaten to poison Kintarou. Seems to work all the time.

As I somewhat mentioned in my fic, about Ryoma reaching the Pinnacle of Perfection, this is actually one of the doors in the "State of Self-Actualization"

-The State of Self-Actualization, or Muga No Kyouchi, occurs when those really great tennis players no longer think when in a match, but allow their instincts to take over instead. Ryoma used this in the manga and the anime.

-Muga No Kyouchi had three doors:

1. Pinnacle of Hard Work/Hyakuren Jitoku no Kiwami—Tezuka Kunimitsu falls under this category

2. Pinnacle of Great Wisdom/Saiki Konbatsu no Kiwami—Shitenhouji's Chitose falls under this category

3. Pinnacle of Perfection/Ten'i Muhou no Kiwami—called the unopened doors, cause it is the strongest form of self-actualization, and the only person to have ever reached this level was Echizen Nanjirou, Ryoma's father. It is said that Shitenhouji's Kintarou is closer to reaching this level than Ryoma. Of course, in this fic I made Ryoma reach it first. I am so biased…fufufufu.

I hope I cleared up some of the terms and characters I mentioned in the story. Do correct me if I made a mistake in the spoilers, and in the story. Once again, read and review

-Gwyn


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or its characters. I wonder what it would be like to have a harem of good looking tennis players though. Hmm…**

**Pairings: Fufufu…not telling. You'd just have to read on to see who was the winner.**

**Warning: May contain spoilers for the latest manga episodes. Also, might not have the pairing you voted for, as the votes have been counted, and someone had lost.**

**Also, this would be a very long chapter. You have been warned.**

**(This chapter is followed by Chapter 2 in Life After Seigaku)**

A/N: Yet another chapter, and as mentioned, the pairings are set in this one. I'm rather surprised, but pleased with the results, as I'm a sucker for _this_ pairing as well.

P.S. Please note that if I write flashbacks, it will always be in Italics.

In one of the reviews, I realized I haven't mentioned something, so some of my spelling would seem off to some people. Would be writing my stories in British English, or at least trying my best to write in British English, since my country uses this. So my spelling and some of my terms would be adopting this language, though I might use quite a number of American spelling and terms as well. :p

A thousand apologies about my grammar. Was typing all my chapters in a rush. Well then, to the story…

**Title: ****Echizen, Our Buchou**

By: Gwynhafra

Chapter 3

The bell rang, signaling the end of class. Ryo sensei gathered his teaching materials and faced the class. "That would be all for today. Be sure to revise chapters 1 and 2 of your text book."

As soon as the teacher was out of the door, many of the students were hurrying home as well. Sakuno packed her things, feeling her heart flutter with excitement. She wondered if Ryoma remembered his promise.

Just then, the door slid open. Tomoka rushed in and came to a halt before Sakuno's desk. "My…it sure is terrible now that we're in different classes. Mou…to think that we're both not in the same class as Ryoma-sama either. I can't believe he looks so cool now."

Sakuno sweatdropped as Tomoka went into full fangirl mode. Horio, Kachiro and Katsuo poked their head in to investigate what was the source of all that noise pollution.

"Eh? What are you two discussing about?" Horio asked curiously. He and Tomoka were in the same class.

Tomoka rounded up on him. "Horio-kun! Do you know which class my Ryoma-sama is in?" she demanded, rattling him.

"I-I don't know!" Horio could barely answer her as his head was thrown back and forth like a rag doll.

"He's in class 1, with us." Kachiro spoke up.

Tomoka's jaw dropped.

Moments later, Kachiro wished he had never opened his big mouth, as now Tomoka was half-strangling him and Katsuo. "I don't believe it! How is it that you both get to be in the same class as Ryoma-sama and I don't?"

"It's not our fault!" The two protested.

Horio looked at his watch. "Aren't you two leaving yet? The bell rang quite a while ago."

"You're right! Come on, Sakuno. Let's go home." Tomoka said happily, releasing her two victims.

Sakuno looked uneasy. "Urm…Tomo-chan…about that…"

The door slid open, and a green-haired second year stepped in.

"Ne, Sakuno. You ready to leave yet?" Ryoma asked, wondering why all of them were staring at him the minute he had entered.

Tomoka's mouth hung open. She slowly turned back to Sakuno, her face rather dark.

"Sakuno…what did he mean by that…?" she asked in a voice laced with suspicion.

Ryoma did not see her expression, as he was busy fishing for his cap from his bag.

"She asked me to walk home with her later. Is there something wrong with that?" Ryoma found his cap, jammed it on his head and glanced up. Judging by the scene before him, he had a feeling that he had said the wrong thing, for Tomoka was pinning both him and Sakuno a stare.

"T-Tomo-chan. Don't get the wrong idea. I wanted to show Ryoma-kun the new tennis equipment shop obaa-chan's cousin had just opened." Sakuno explained, though secretly she felt like crying. Her chance to be with Ryoma alone was ruined.

Tomoka brightened up, looking relieved. She hung on to Ryoma's arm, missing the look of disgust on the boy's face. "Let's go then!" she cheered.

Sakuno forced a smile onto her face. It looked like she wouldn't be able to say anything to Ryoma today after all.

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Ryoma managed to shake Tomoka off after some time. "Stop clinging to me. It's hard for me to walk." He muttered. Tomoka merely grinned at him, while Sakuno tagged behind both of them quietly.

Ryoma turned slightly to glance at Sakuno. "Ne. Where is this shop you wanted to show me?" Studying the look on her face, he had a feeling that going to the shop was not the only reason she wanted to walk home with him.

Sakuno started when she was addressed, as she had been deep in thought. She noticed both Ryoma and Tomoka looking at her questioningly, and remembered that she was the one who was supposed to be giving directions.

"Oh. It's not too far from here. Just walk another 400 metres and turn left.

Ryoma looked surprised. "Why does that sound like the direction of my house instead?"

Sakuno gasped. Ryoma had actually hit the bullseye. Apart from the way to her house and to Ryoma's house, she got the directions to everywhere else wrong. Heck, she once directed someone to Hyotei Gakuen instead of Seishun Gakuen.

"Eh? That's the way to Ryoma-sama's house?" Tomoka's eyes were sparkling.

Ryoma pinned her with a stare to kill off any ideas she might be having. Unfortunately, his killer glare did not seem to have any effect on his head fangirl.

"Ah. I'm so sorry! I just know that the shop is two blocks away from Kawamura-senpai's sushi shop." Sakuno apologized, bowing slightly.

Ryoma gave a sigh. How could he forget Sakuno's direction giving skills? The first time they met, she had misdirected him to the complete opposite of the courts, causing him to be disqualified as he was five minutes late.

"Let's make our way to Kawamura Sushi then. You'll lead us to the shop from there." This time, Ryoma took it upon himself to lead the way.

As they were walking, Ryoma seemed to have recalled something.

"Say, Sakuno. Ryusaki-sensei would be training this cousin's son's tennis team right? That Chibi Gakuen or something like that.

(A/N: So sorry about the school name. Was too lazy to think of a better one)

Sakuno nodded. "Is that what you went to talk to obaa-san about this morning? How did you guess it was this cousin?"

Ryoma shrugged. "I was just making a wild guess. Ryusaki-sensei mentioned that a relative's son's school needed help, and decided to focus her training on them."

Tomoka was looking highly annoyed. "Hey, you two. Are you both aware that I don't understand what the two of you are talking about?"

Both of them stopped talking and turned their attention to Tomoka, having just remembered her presence there.

"Oh. It's nothing very serious. A cousin of Ryusaki's pleaded for her to go over to coach his son's tennis club, as their old coach had retired. Ryusaki brought this matter up to me this morning, and I suggested that she should concentrate on Chibi Gakuen, as Seigaku can manage for now."

"Nothing very serious?! That would mean Seigaku's boys' Tennis Club would not have a coach! How would that not be serious?" Tomoka exclaimed, causing a few birds in nearby trees to take flight.

Ryoma ignored that outburst and continued on. "I went to discuss with her about a temporary trainer while she's away, as I did not really…er…approve of the temporary coach she had in mind."

He dreaded the next question, and sure enough…

"Who?" Both Sakuno and Tomoka asked curiously.

Ryoma looked like he'd rather snatch one of the birds from the sky and swallow it alive than tell them who the coach was. 'There is no way I'd tell them that Ryusaki-sensei thought of using _dad_ as a temporary coach. Thank goodness she changed her mind, or Seigaku would REALLY be in trouble.' He thought.

"It was just someone unimportant. I don't need to go into detail. I'll see to it that Seigaku would have a trainer, so you shouldn't worry too much about it. Oh. We're at Kawamura Sushi already. Now where should we go?" he asked Sakuno, glad that there was a reason to change the topic.

Sakuno at least could remember the way now that she was so near to the tennis equipment shop. Before long, they were standing before a small, but well furnished shop. Sakuno went in first, followed on by Ryoma and Tomoka.

"Konbanwa, Sora-san." She greeted.

A middle-aged man poked his head out from behind the counter. "Ah, Sakuno. Your grandmother mentioned that you might be coming here someday. Your friends?"

Sakuno nodded. "Yes. This is Tomoka and Ryoma-kun."

Both sides exchanged polite greetings. Ryoma was studying all the equipment in the shop. His hands were already itching to buy some of the tennis balls, and probably one of the shoes he saw on display. He tried not to laugh as he thought of what his vice-captain's reaction would be if he had brought Momoshiro here, knowing that Momo-senpai loved to shop for tennis shoes.

"Feel free to look around. Be with you people after I'm done putting away these boxes." Once more, his head disappeared behind the counter, as he had bent over to pick up the newly arrived goods.

Ryoma noticed that he was struggling with one of the larger boxes, and strode over to Sora-san. "I'll help you carry some of your boxes." He said. Together, they brought the box to the storeroom at the back of the shop. Once the box was placed on one of the shelves, Sora wiped sweat away from his brow. "Thank you, young man…er…forgot your name."

"Echizen Ryoma." Seigaku's captain replied.

Sora's eyes widened. He gave Ryoma a good look and suddenly seized Ryoma's hand, shaking it. "So you're _the_ Echizen Ryoma! I saw your performance at the Nationals last year. How blind of me to not recognize you. Well, feel free to look around the shop. I'm sure you might find something you like." He led Ryoma back to the two girls.

Ryoma took his time browsing through the items, and occasionally he would pick up an item or two to suggest that the girls bought it, since they were in the tennis club as well. Tomoka literally bought everything Ryoma had picked up, whether she needed it or not. Ryoma noticed that she had bought more than 10 balls.

"Do you really need that many?" he asked.

Tomoka took one of the balls and rubbed it against her cheek. Ryoma could have sworn that he heard her purr. "But these are the ones Ryoma-sama picked up. I don't like the idea of anyone else buying them."

Ryoma twitched, while Sakuno was looking embarrassed. "Tomo-chan!" she tried to calm her friend down before Tomoka started another "Ryoma-sama" chant.

"I'm done with my shopping. Not to mention I've bought some new tape for my racket." Ryoma was looking pleased.

He turned his attention to the two girls. Sakuno had bought a new racket, while Tomoka seemed to have emptied half the shop. Where did she get the money from, anyway…?

"We'd better leave. I'll have to meet up with someone after this. Is it alright if you go on home with Tomoka?" Ryoma directed the question at Sakuno.

Sakuno nodded. She was grateful that at least Ryoma agreed to come along in the first place.

"Alright then. I'll take my leave now. Ja ne." He slid open the door and walked out without looking, bumping into someone who was walking into the shop.

"Ah, I'm sorry…Buchou!" Ryoma gaped in surprise, for standing before him was none other than his predecessor, Tezuka Kunimitsu.

For a moment, both of them stared at each other, not believing how much the other had changed after the holidays. Tezuka's appearance hasn't changed much, except that his hair too was slightly longer, and that he had grown taller. Again. Ryoma wondered if he'd ever catch up to his former captain's height.

"Echizen? You sure have changed." Tezuka's voice sounded slightly amused, even though his expressionless face hasn't changed at all.

Ryoma gave a slight smile. "It had been a while, Buchou. Shall we go? Or are you intending to look around the shop first?"

"I'll come back another day then." Tezuka said thoughtfully.

Both Sakuno and Tomoka stared. "So it's Tezuka-san that you're meeting up with?"

"Yeah. I had something to discuss with him. See you two in school." Ryoma left with the other boy.

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Ryoma had actually been in contact with Tezuka throughout the holidays. The green-haired prodigy had gone back to America, and Tezuka made sure to e-mail him frequently. This was the first time that both of them met face to face since the former captain left Seishun Gakuen.

The two of them walked in silence, though it was not an uncomfortable one, as they enjoyed each other's company even though no words were spoken. Tezuka was the first one to speak up.

"How is Seigaku doing now?"

Ryoma chuckled. It was just like Tezuka to be concerned about the tennis club he once led.

"Saa…how should I put this. It's still too early to tell, seeing that today was only the first day. However, apart from Momoshiro, Kaidou and two second years, I would need to discover hidden talents amongst the rest of them. The selection for the regulars would be held soon. I'd have to deal with one other problem before that…"

Tezuka gave Ryoma a questioning look. Ryoma sighed before continuing. "Ryusaki-sensei is leaving Seigaku."

"Nani?" Tezuka's reaction was immediate. He looked startled, which was saying something considering he rarely showed anything other than an impassive face.

Ryoma sighed. To think that he had to explain this twice in a day, though Tezuka would be a better listener. "She would be coaching her relative's school. Chibi Gakuen. Initially she wanted to stay, but I told her to go ahead, since I felt that Seigaku would be able to manage. I would be taking over the role of supervising the club, and all I have to deal with now is getting a temporary trainer for the club."

Tezuka nodded, not interrupting. He knew that Ryoma should have an idea of what to do, or else he wouldn't have let Ryusaki-sensei leave the club.

Ryoma noticed that Tezuka looked thoughtful, and knew that the former captain was also thinking about what to do for Seigaku. The green-haired sophomore reached out and took Tezuka's hand, effectively bringing Tezuka out of his thoughts.

"It's not something you should worry yourself over. Besides, I'm the captain of the club now. Don't tell me you are starting to doubt my abilities to lead the club." There was a mild hint of arrogance in Ryoma's tone, causing Tezuka to smile.

Ryoma grinned at being able to see one of Tezuka's rare smiles. Both of them walked towards the street tennis courts, still hand in hand.

"Enough about me. How is Kanto High School?" he asked.

To his dismay, Tezuka's smile disappeared almost immediately, and his frown seemed to deepen.

"Academically, this school is the best in the region, which was why I enrolled into it the first place. However, their co-curriculum activities are rather lacking. Many students do not bother to join in the clubs, and even if they do, none of them take it seriously."

Ryoma blinked at his ex-captain. Poor Tezuka would have to work hard, by the sounds of it. "Good luck, buchou."

Tezuka gave a sigh. "It seems like that has now become a nickname for me, even though you're the one holding the position of captain now. Even Kikumaru and the others call me 'buchou'. Echizen…can't you call me Kunimitsu?"

Ryoma felt his face go slightly hot. So they were calling each other by their names already. It reminded him of what Tezuka had said during the holidays, just a few days before school started.

"_Will you go out with me?"_

_Ryoma had been too stunned to reply for a moment. Throughout the year, Tezuka had been hinting about this, but Ryoma couldn't be too sure. Now this question had confirmed Tezuka's feelings about him._

(A/N: And here is where your votes play a part…)

_Then again, Ryoma had grown extremely fond of Tezuka as well, seeing how the Seigaku captain was willing to sacrifice everything, even his own arm, to ensure that Seigaku went to the Nationals. Ryoma had little feelings for anything, even tennis, although he was good at it. Seeing Tezuka's sense of responsibility stirred up something in Ryoma's heart, and before he knew it, he was infatuated with the brunette as well._

"_Okay." Ryoma had given his reply._

"I will call you Kunimitsu…when you stop calling me Echizen." Ryoma retorted, though his tone was playful and not harsh.

He wondered if this was a sign that they were dating now. Though, their dates would be quite casual and not those overly romantic ones where they would be romancing all over the place.

He had called Tezuka out today to discuss with him about Seigaku's latest dilemma, as well as to have a game of tennis with one of Japan's best player.

Before long, they had reached the tennis courts. There didn't seem to be too many people there, fortunately. Ryoma felt a thrill run though him as Tezuka drew out his racket. There would never be an opponent like Tezuka for the green-haired youth.

Soon, they were having a friendly match. Tezuka still had the upper hand in skill, as Ryoma was still weaker than Tezuka as long as he doesn't enter his 'state of self-actualization' Still, Ryoma had already reached the stage where Tezuka was having a challenge trying to win against him.

"You haven't really reached my level yet." Tezuka finished the game with his drop shot, and the ball rolled back towards the net upon contact with the ground.

Ryoma grinned. "I wasn't being serious. If I had gone all out, you would have lost. Then again, you weren't playing seriously either."

Before they became boyfriends, Ryoma would have gone all out at any opponent; to the point that he might throw his racket if that could win him the match. Now he made an exception, and that was Tezuka. With Tezuka, he played tennis to enjoy the fun of it, not to think about winning only. After all, Tezuka brought him out of his obsession to play tennis for the sake of beating his father only, and now Ryoma had learnt how to truly appreciate this sport.

For any other opponent, however, his will to win stood firm.

By evening, both of them were exhausted. Ryoma plopped himself down on a bench, trying to catch his breath.

Moments later, he felt something cold on his forehead and opened his eyes. Tezuka was holding onto a can of Ponta. "Here." He handed it to the boy.

Ryoma mumbled his thanks, opened the lid and took a gulp. He swallowed and gave a happy sigh, grateful for the lifesaver.

Tezuka opened his bottle of mineral water and sipped it.

"Say, Bu…Kunimitsu. (he blushed as he said this), how do you usually decide the groups for the regulars ranking?"

Tezuka thought about it for a moment. "More often than not it's random, but we do categorize them based on their strength, speed and skill. I've always had Ryusaki-sensei helping me out for this and…oh yeah…she's leaving…" Tezuka had just remembered. Ryoma gave a weary smile. It looked like it was all up to him and Momo-senpai to deal with the rankings.

As Ryoma thought about what to do, Tezuka spoke up again. "Why not have a practice session, and this time you and Momoshiro would observe them. It might help you decide the groups to place them in."

That seemed to be a good idea, Ryoma thought. Once more Tezuka had come to his aid when he was in a tight spot.

"I'll do that then." Ryoma stated, looked more cheered up now.

Tezuka gave him a pat on the head, then stood up. "It's about time we head back home, isn't it. Come on, Ryoma." The taller man took Ryoma's hand and helped him to his feet.

Ryoma smiled. It would take time for him to get used to Kunimitsu calling him by his name, but this was a step in the right direction, for both of them.

'I do hope none of the members know about Ryusaki-sensei leaving though. I must speak to Momoshiro tomorrow.' Ryoma thought.

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"Eh? Ryusaki-sensei is leaving the club?" Momoshiro's eyes widened. His hand was frozen in mid-air, with his hamburger just inches away from his mouth.

Ryoma nodded. His best friend's reaction had been predictable, as that had been his reaction as well when Ryusaki mentioned it to him.

"We would be handling the club, as well as training the new members for now until I can find a temporary trainer. Ryusaki mentioned that she would be going to Chibi Gakuen for around 6 months, so we'd just have to hold out till then. I believe we can do it. After all, Seigaku's Japan's no 1, isn't it?" he spoke this with a mild hint of pride.

Momoshiro grinned. "You said it, Echizen-buchou. No matter what, we'll aim for the Nationals. Alright. Let's talk more about this during tennis practice tomorrow. I think it would be okay to include that Mamushi in our discussion, since he had experience as a regular before, and I think he is qualified enough to train the newbies as well.

"I guess so. Oh, Momo-senpai. Whatever you do, tell none of this to the members, apart from Kaidou-senpai. I don't want them to lose their spirit even before I get us a trainer."

"You didn't have to tell me. I didn't even think of spreading the word in the first place anyway." Momoshiro hurriedly finished his half-eaten burger. He got up and picked up his bag. "Let's hope for the best, Echizen-buchou."

"Usu."

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The bell rang. 'Finally!' Ryoma stretched in his seat and got up as his fellow classmates headed for home. He wondered what the members would say if they knew that he had a practice session for them later.

As he made his way to the changing room to get dressed in his sports attire, Sakuno came running up to him. "Ryoma-kun…!" she stopped next to him and tried to catch her breath.

Ryoma waited for her to speak on. She looked rather guilt-ridden, and Ryoma hoped that it wasn't something too serious.

"I…I'm sorry! I tried to stop her from saying it, but she didn't listen to me!"

"What are you talking about?" Ryoma was completely confused.

"T-Tomo-chan. She told Horio that Ryusaki-sensei had left the club!"

She didn't have to say anymore. The next moment, Ryoma was sprinting towards the tennis courts, hoping to catch Horio before he got the word around. Unfortunately, luck was not on his side.

At the courts

"Eh??? Horio-kun! Is that true?" Kachiro was saying. A lot of the members had surrounded Horio, who was looking smug that he knew something they didn't, and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the attention.

"Well, Tomoka was with Echizen-buchou at that time, and she heard him say it. Ryusaki-sensei will be leaving the club."

"I've not heard anything like that from Ryoma-buchou. Maybe you have been mistaken?" Katsuo tried to protest.

Horio's smug face got worse. "I'm afraid it's definitely true. Tomoka and I went to the staff office to look for Ryusaki-sensei, and the other teachers mentioned that she had transferred to Chibi Gakuen. Maybe she's not returning at all."

The last sentence, of course, was made up by Horio. Still, it threw the whole club into chaos.

"What should we do…without a coach, how would Seigaku be able to win?"

"The club is doomed…"

The freshmen looked like all of them wanted to leave the club, the second years lost their spirits, and some of the third years were bullying their juniors, since the coach was gone, and neither the captain nor the vice-captain were around yet.

Momoshiro entered the courts at that moment, with Kaidou right behind him. He blinked, wondering what the crowd was all about. "Hey, members! Why aren't any of you practicing yet?"

The next moment, Seigaku's vice captain found himself surrounded. "Momo-chan fukubuchou! Is it true that Ryusaki-sensei is leaving the club?"

That caught the third-year off guard for a moment. He had been informed of this just yesterday, and apart from Kaoru, Keita and another third year Tsun, no one else had heard about it, and he was very sure that these few people would not blab about it.

He faked a casual laugh and rubbed the back of his head. "That's funny. Where have you heard of such nonsense?"

As one, all eyes were turned towards Horio, who hurriedly defended himself. "I heard it from Tomoka, who was with Echizen-buchou when he said it."

Momoshiro gave an inward sigh. It seemed that Ryoma had said it at the wrong place, at the wrong time, and to the wrong audience.

He felt worried. Where was Ryoma at a time like this? It was not good news that everyone looked so dispirited, and it was just the third day of the new semester.

"Enough about this! Start your practice now!" Momoshiro ordered, changing the subject as everyone had started whispering amongst themselves again.

Arai gave a mocking laugh. "What is there to practice? The first years this time are hopeless, and without a coach, we would fall behind all the other schools. Apart from myself, I don't think there would be anyone new joining the regulars."

He offended a lot of the freshmen with his words. Some threw down their rackets and made to leave the court.

"Calm down, everyone. Arai! Watch your words!" Momoshiro snarled.

A loud hiss shut everyone up, even Momo. Everyone was frozen under the gaze of the bandanna wearing viper.

"Are you all so weak that you have to depend solely on a coach? Who are you playing tennis for? Yourself or the coach?"

Everyone blinked. Even Momoshiro looked slightly impressed. Kaidou always had a nasty temper, but for him to blow up at the whole tennis club, that was saying something.

Moments later, he felt rather than saw someone behind him, for that person was emitting a very strong aura.

"Well said, Senior Kaidou." The captain spoke in perfect English.

Everyone gulped in fear, for Ryoma's golden eyes were hard and filled with anger. He must have been so angry that he had gone into the state of self-actualization, and he was still wearing his uniform. Momoshiro had a feeling that Ryoma had run all the way here, though there was not a single drop of sweat on him, perhaps thanks to his awakening.

(A/N: Mild spoiler here. If you've read the manga, the first time Ryoma 'awakened', all his sweat evaporated. Rather out of this world, isn't it? XD)

Ryoma took a deep breath, calming himself down and coming out of his awakened state. It would be bad if he spoke English all the way, as more than half of the members wouldn't be able to understand him then.

"I had not wanted to say this, as I knew that this would happen, but it's true that Ryusaki-sensei has left to train Chibi Gakuen."

Everyone threw each other worried glances, with Horio having an 'I-told-you-so' look on his face.

Ryoma threw him a dirty look before continuing. "However, this is only temporary, and she would be back in half a year. For the moment, vice captain Momoshiro, Kaidou senpai and I will be training the first years and second years. We will be arranging for a trainer soon to aid us."

He was relieved when he saw that at least some of the members had regained their spirits at those words. He continued on again…

"For the interruption in today's tennis practice, everyone will do a group punishment. 10 laps around the courts! Arai, Horio! You would both be doing 20! After that, continue on with practice."

Seeing the murderous look on the captain's face, nobody protested as everyone scrambled off. Even Arai began running. Horio however, wasn't as wise.

"B-but…Echizen-buchou!"

"40 laps! Don't make me give you more!" Ryoma barked.

"Hai!" Horio hurriedly went to do his laps.

Momoshiro and Kaidou were quite used to this, and they knew that Echizen was angry, so they too went to run their laps without complaining. To their surprise, Ryoma himself overtook them.

"Echizen! Why are you running too?" Momoshiro asked in surprise.

Ryoma gave a bitter smile. "I'm giving myself 50 laps. After all, all these started because of me. I would like to discuss something with you two after tennis practice. Please meet me in class 2A later." With that, Ryoma sped off.

Momoshiro felt a renewed sense of respect surge for his best friend and captain. Ryoma had grown so much, and his sense of responsibility could rival Tezuka's. It was odd how those two were so similar, both in skills and personalities.

"Come on, Mamushi. Let's see who finishes first. We don't want to lose to a junior, do we?"

"You're the one to lose. Fssshhh…"

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It was evening when practice ended, and almost everyone had left. After Momoshiro had given instructions for the first year to pick up the tennis balls and to clean the courts, he went to look for Ryoma.

The captain was already seated in one of the seats, while Kaidou was next to him. Momoshiro closed the door upon entering, so that there will be no eavesdropper this time. "So sorry I'm late." He said.

Ryoma waited until the vice-captain sat before beginning. "I'm sure both of you had noticed today's performance." He began.

Momoshiro nodded, while Kaidou looked like he didn't even want to remember that afternoon's practice session. It was horrible. First years who were instructed to swing their rackets could only do around 50 times before all of them were panting and asking for a break. Second years and third years played against each other in courts B, C and D, and only a handful of them performed well, with the other catching the balls with their faces instead of their rackets.

"Just as we feared, most of them lost their spirits at the fact that we have no coach. Honestly, they have no backbones. However, with the rankings just one month away, how are we going to get regulars who are **really** good enough?"

Ryoma knew that all three of them, being ex-regulars who have gone through competition after competition, knew how tough it would be for the ones selected in the ranking. They needed good players, not fillers.

"I already have an idea of who could be our trainer. Thank goodness, his time and ours doesn't clash, and I called him just moments ago, and he has agreed to help us." Ryoma spoke up.

"Who?" Both Momoshiro and Kaidou enquired immediately.

At the name, however, both of them paled.

"E-E-Echizen buchou…you're asking that guy from Rikkai Dai to come and be our trainer?" Kaidou stammered.

Seeing Ryoma's evil smirk, a shiver ran through both of them. "You really are so pissed off with today's peformace that you're getting him as a punishment to all members, aren't you, Echizen." Momoshiro gulped.

"You could say that. Also, it's because I can't think of any better guy."

A Week Later

"Alright! Everyone, assemble in the courts now." Momoshiro called out. He was looking nervous, and the members looked at each other. Amongst the third years, Kaidou was fidgeting.

"I'm glad to inform you that from today onwards, we will be having a temporary trainer. He will be arriving shortly and…oh, here he is!" Ryoma announced.

As the person pushed open the door and entered the courts, everyone's attention turned to him.

The third years screamed.

The second years fainted.

The first years looked at each other in confusion and bewilderment.

"Oh? I have such an effect on people? This is interesting. Ii data…"

To be continued…

Gwynhafra a.k.a Authoress: I wonder if any of you could guess who the trainer is. I thought it was pretty obvious. XD

Yup, the votes have been counted and the pairings are now set. Thank you all who have reviewed. I've added the votes from both chapters one and two and here are the results.

Out of 39 reviews:

Tezuka X Echizen—25 votes

Ryoma X Sakuno—12 votes

It was quite a victory for Tezuka. Once again, Omedetou gozaimasu, Tezuka Kunimitsu!

My apologies to those who have voted for Sakuno.

**Echizen Ryoma: Sorry to keep you waiting, buchou.**

**Tezuka Kunimitsu: Didn't I ask you to call me by my name?**

**(Both kissed each other. Tezuka's hand moved towards Ryoma's shirt…)**

**Gwynhafra: (pushes them both apart) Ahem! However, I would like to mention that this would only be a shonen-ai fic at most. I don't and can't write yaoi/lemon. So if you're hoping for bed-shaking, wall-cracking yaoi, I'm afraid you'll be severely disappointed. Besides, the idea of both Tezuka and Echizen being overly romantic would make them both seem too out of character.**

Kikumaru: Hoi, Hoi! Don't tell me you've abandoned us just because we've left Junior High!

Oishi: Eiji! Don't offend an Authoress, or you might have a wart on your face!

Kikumaru: What can she do and…AAAIIIEEEE! What's this wart doing on my face?!

Gwynhafra: Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about them. Yup! Now that it's TezukaEchizen, I've decided to write a companion fic for this. You may or may not have noticed, but this fic's focus is mainly on the point of views of the junior high students. (Ryoma, Sakuno, Momoshiro etc).

In my other fic, 'Life After Seigaku', the focus would be on the point of views of the seniors. (Tezuka, Fuji, Kikumaru etc) It would roughly follow the same timeline as this fic, meaning one year later as well, and it would also be TezuEchizen. Some scenes may overlap with this fic, and some dialogues may repeat. I'll try to keep the repetitions at a minimal though. Though some scenes are mentioned in passing in this fic, and explained in the other, and vice versa.

Would explain more in the other fic, and chapter 4 of 'Echizen, Our Buchou'. I'd better stop or this chapter would _really_ be too long.

**Read and review please.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. I do own my original characters though.**

**Warning: May contain spoilers for the latest manga episodes. Shonen-ai fic.**

**Pairings: Tezuka X Echizen**

**(This chapter is followed by Chapter 6 in Life After Seigaku)**

A/N: Chapter 4 is now up! Finally! (stretches) Many of you managed to guess who Seigaku's trainer is. To think that many of you are so eager to see his appearance. lol. **Thank you all for your reviews so far**. Would try my best to update both fics as frequently as possible. Now trying to finish my story before my next semester starts.

Alright then. To the story…

**Echizen, Our Buchou**

By: Gwynhafra

Chapter 4

Seigaku's captain found himself having difficulties at trying not to smile. He raised his head and pinned everyone with his golden gaze.

"First years, wake up those who have fainted. We can't continue practice with them lying all over the ground like that."

The clueless freshmen hurried to carry out Ryoma's orders. The three little pigs who have just regained consciousness whimpered as they stared at the glasses wearing, data collecting, ex-Seigaku regular player.

"E…Echizen-buchou…don't tell me…you've asked Inui-senpai to be our trainer?!" Horio wailed.

Ryoma turned his attention to the sophomore and gave his trademark smirk. "Hmm…? Is there something wrong with that?"

Once everyone was revived and back in line, Ryoma began to speak.

"Alright members. This is Inui Sadaharu, a former student of this school and an ex-regular of the tennis club. He has kindly agreed to help out as trainer for our club. Please give him all your support. Understood?"

"Hai! Echizen buchou!" everyone chorused.

Ryoma nodded. "Alright. Carry on with practice. First years-Court D. Second years and third years, Court A, B and C."

With that, everyone scrambled off to practice. The first years were giving Inui curious glances.

"To think that there are so many people in the tennis club after we seniors have left. You have done a good job, Echizen-kun. Looks like that milk diet is working for you." Inui grinned.

Ryoma twitched. Did they expect him to stay short forever?

"Thank you for agreeing to help us out, Inui-senpai. After that last practice session, I wanted to force all of them to drink a gallon of your Inui juice."

Inui looked hurt. "Don't make it sound like my hyper-remix juices taste bad. They're really healthy you know. By the way, is it alright if I try out my latest invention on your members? Sanada-san and the rest refused to even touch them."

By now, Ryoma was really trying to hold the laughter in. "Why ::cough:: not?" The mental image of the Rikkai Dai players drinking Inui juice was too much even for the introverted captain.

"Excellent! I'll be off to look at your first years then." Inui whistled to himself as he walked to court D.

Momoshiro, who had been in a practice match with Kaidou, stopped stroking for a while as he stared fearfully to see which direction the data tennis player was going. Seeing that Inui wasn't heading over to their side, the two third-years gave a sigh of relief.

"Alright then, Mamushi! You're going to lose this round!" Momoshiro prepared the next serve.

"You'll never be able to beat me, Momoshiro." Kaidou gave a hiss and readied himself.

Just as Momoshiro and Kaidou began playing, Ryoma suddenly stepped between them. At that time, Kaidou had already hit a snake shot, and the ball was headed towards the captain.

"Echizen!!!" Both Momoshiro and Kaidou cried out.

Ryoma calmly drew out his racket, and half a moment later, the ball was caught by him. He bounced it gently on the frame of his racket, giving both his senpais a questioning look. "What?" he asked.

"Baka Echizen! You scared us half to death there!" Momoshiro walked over and grabbed Echizen's head in a chokehold.

"As if I can be hit by a snake shot. Besides, both of you weren't playing seriously anyway." Ryoma stated, looking unapologetic.

The bratty captain straightened his cap once Momoshiro decided he was done strangling the boy and had let him go. "Momo-senpai, Kaidou-senpai. Pair up. You'll be playing doubles."

The two rivals groaned. Why do they always have to end up as partners?

"Who's going to be our opponent?" Momoshiro asked.

Ryoma gave a grin. "You're looking at him."

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"101! 102! 103..." the first years called out as they swung their rackets.

Inui had his notebook settled comfortably in his lap. He already had a brief glance at all the members, and he understood why Ryoma was getting worried. For it seemed that after the seniors left, there was a huge difference in skills for the juniors. The places in the regulars were not going to be filled so easily, and by the looks of it, no one was really playing seriously. At this rate, Seigaku wouldn't survive to the Nationals.

"203! …" Most of the first years have already stopped by then. Eventually, all of them sat panting on the ground even before they reached 230 swings.

"Inui-senpai. Can we have a break?" One of the first years asked.

Inui gave them all a glance and his glasses glinted.

"Of course. So sorry that I didn't notice all of you being so tired. How about I make it up to you? Try some of this Inui's golden pudding. You would feel refreshed and revitalized after eating it."

The first years' eyes sparkled and some even began salivating. Echizen-buchou had chosen such a kind and generous trainer. "Arigatou, Inui-senpai!"

"Ii data…fufufufu" Inui muttered to himself.

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Momoshiro and Kaidou were not ex-regulars for nothing. The both of them have already grown stronger by all the challenges they had to face in the competitions. Now, Momoshiro's advanced Dunk Smash can drill a hole into the ground. Literally. Kaidou's Tornado Snake was so fast, it would take someone with Kikumaru's eyesight to detect where the ball went to.

Needless to say, against most of the others players, they would have creamed their opponents faster than one could say "Seigaku!"

However, Ryoma was not 'most of the other players'.

"Kaidou!" Momoshiro yelled as Ryoma hit one particularly fast shot.

Kaidou readied his stance, and hit a Boomerang Hadoukyu back at Ryoma, who caught it easily.

"Mada mada da ne." Ryoma smirked as he fired a shot above both their heads.

"Now's my chance!" Momoshiro hit a dunk smash.

"Higuma Otoshi!" Ryoma used one of Fuji's ex triple-counters.

He gave another arrogant smirk to his two seniors. Both of them glared at the inhuman tennis player in return.

"Now then, for the next ball…" Ryoma hit a twist serve.

By now, Momoshiro and Kaidou were already experts at catching Ryoma's special serve, since they had seen it used so many times. Even though Ryoma's twist serve had already increased drastically in terms of speed and power, they could hit it back after all the practice they did.

"Too slow, Echizen!" Momoshiro prepared to hit the ball.

Just then, screams erupted from court D, causing him to lose his concentration. The ball clobbered him on the forehead. "OW!"

"What happened? Was somebody murdered?" Momoshiro asked, rubbing his forehead.

Ryoma fought to keep a straight face. "Nothing you should worry about. Let's get back to the game."

Kaidou looked pale. "Wasn't that where Inui-senpai went…?"

It seemed that he wasn't the only one who noticed. The members in the other courts had stopped too, and all of them wore an expression of horror.

Ryoma was slightly annoyed that all of them had stopped. "Everyone! Resume your practice!" he ordered.

Most of the members did half-heartedly. They stopped again when Inui approached Court A, which was the court all of them were in.

Inui came in with a rather satisfied grin, and Ryoma wondered if he had collected any good data.

The senior high student gave everyone a questioning look, seeing that they were all staring at him.

"Are all of you tired too? If you want, try out my Inui's multi coloured ice-cream. It should have you recharged."

The effects of Inui's words were immediate as many of the tennis players screamed, especially when Inui took out said ice-cream from a small cooler in his bag. Even the colours looked out of this world. Also…was it normal for ice-cream to emit a green fog…?

Everyone began playing again. This time all were hitting the balls like their life depended on it.

"Minna. Please note that the losers of each game would be invited to try out Inui-senpai's new ice-cream." Ryoma announced. Revenge was sweet, and by the looks of it, Horio would be helping himself to some soon as he was completely bulldozed by Katsuo.

"I hope you like ice-cream, Buchou!" Ryoma turned his attention back in time to catch one particularly difficult shot. Crap. It looked like Momoshiro and Kaidou were serious too.

"Heh…this is getting interesting."

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By the end of practice, the casualty rate increased by 45 percent, based on Inui's calculations of course. Quite a number of third years and second years were now sprawled on the ground, joining the first years' slumber party. Horio was foaming at the mouth.

"Ne. Momo-senpai. Kaidou-senpai. You two still alive?" Ryoma asked, his heart still pounding from his narrow escape. When Momoshiro and Kaidou got serious, they were really tough opponents, and Ryoma had to play seriously or he would be enjoying the inedible confectionary too. He had won them, 7 games to 5.

"You'll pay for this, Echizen…Fsshhh…" Kaidou gave a weak, half dead hiss.

Inui was happily updating his entries, while Ryoma decided it was time to call it a day; he clapped his hands to get their attention.

"Alright everyone. That's enough for today. The selections are two weeks away from now. Be sure to do your best."

As everyone fled as far away as humanly possible from the new trainer, Ryoma went to hear what the former regular has to say.

"Currently I've seen a few with talents. It would only be a matter of time before we get to see their skills. Just a few more practices would do. Echizen, you remember your end of the bargain right?"

"Usu."

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It was just the third practice since Inui became trainer, and now Seigaku's performance had increased by 75 percent. There probably has never been a tennis club where ALL the members looked like they could qualify as a regular.

Inui sat on one of the benches, his huge flask of Inui's Moss Juice placed next to him, so that it was in full view of all the members.

The members in turn played like super humans, all not wishing to have anything to do with that flask. Heck, even Horio managed to score one ball against Kaidou.

"500! 501…" the first years counted their swings. After some time, many of them looked exhausted.

"Why don't you take a break? You can have a nice cup of juice while you're at it." Inui poured a small cup of juice and held it out to them. To all their horror, the cup melted.

"Hieee!!!!!!! 1005! 1006! 1007…" the freshmen yelled, looking as if they could still do another 5000 times.

"Such a pity…" Inui muttered. Aside from Fuji and his pal Renji, no one seemed to be able to take the juices he made. He shuddered as he remembered how Sanada almost killed him when he knocked Yukimura out with one of his 'golden puddings'

Another half of the freshmen who weren't training were assigned to pick up balls.

Three freshmen (the same three who paid a visit to the girl's toilet in the first chapter) stared in awe as Ryoma practiced against third year Tsun.

"I don't think he has lost a single match with all his opponents so far." One said

"He's so cool!" the other gushed with admiration.

"That's nothing. With my three years of tennis experience, it wouldn't be long before I make it into the regulars, and would most probably be on the same level as Echizen-buchou." Horio boasted. The three freshmen jumped, not knowing when he had appeared behind them.

Near him, Kachiro and Katsuo sighed. "Horio-kun. Don't go saying things like that. Just two days ago, you lost to Echizen-buchou 6 games to 0."

"…That was…I was just not playing seriously." Horio tried to defend himself.

"He was playing with his right hand." Kachiro reminded.

"So? Ryoma is known to be able to play with both hands." Horio protested.

"And he had his eyes closed." Katsuo added.

"Er…well…players like him can play with their eyes closed." Horio tried to defend himself again.

"And he was hopping on one foot only, with his left hand on his waist throughout the whole match." Both Kachiro and Katsuo said at the same time.

"……" Horio had nothing to say against that.

"Game won by, Echizen, 6 games to 3." Third year Keita, who was the referee, announced.

The members who were watching clapped as Ryoma and Tsun shook hands. "That was a good practice. Keep up the good work." Ryoma said.

"Hai. Echizen-buchou." Tsun gave a slight bow to the captain before walking off to join his best friend Keita.

Echizen wiped off the sweat from his head and took a gulp from the Ponta he had in his bag. Moments later, Momoshiro came to sit beside him. The vice-captain was looking slightly down.

"What's with you, Momo-senpai?" Ryoma asked.

Momoshiro gave a long sigh. "I can't believe I lost to that baka Mamushi. Now our scores' are even again."

Ryoma raised an eyebrow. "In that case, all you have to do is beat him when it comes to the rankings. Or do you not have confidence in being able to do that?"

For those people who are not familiar with Ryoma's ways, they would probably be offended. However, Momoshiro had known Ryoma long enough and knew this was just Ryoma's way of cheering him up.

"Heh. Ah well. The rankings would be held soon anyway. Need help in splitting the members into groups?"

Ryoma's golden eyes looked slightly grateful. He lowered his cap to cover them. "I couldn't ask for more."

"I think it would be good idea to ask Inui to help out as well. I have a feeling he has all the data for the members by now. By the way, where do you run off to every Tuesday?"

Ryoma gave a last gulp of his Ponta, draining the can before throwing it into the bin. "To return the favour for helping us here. I helped Rikkai Dai's senior high group with their training."

"Ah. I wonder how much data Inui can collect from that." Momoshiro shuddered.

Ryoma smiled slightly. "Not just him. He has his best friend there as well, remember. You would go crazy if you try to strike a conversation with them for too long."

"Ah. Thanks for the warning. I will bear that in mind." Momoshiro got to his feet. "Alright. I'll go check on the 2nd years now. You might want to take a look at how the third years are doing, buchou."

"Usu."

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Some time later, Ryoma found himself on one of the rare dates he had with Kunimitsu. Both of them were busy with their activities and couldn't meet up much, but they kept their relationship going via phone.

Both of them went to Kawamura Sushi, Echizen's first time there with all of them since the seniors left school. His previous trips here were only with Tezuka. He had just entered the shop when someone glomped him.

"Ochibi!!! Tezuka-buchou! You really brought him!" Kikumaru said happily. He released Ryoma and took a good look. "Eh? Ochibi is around my height now? Since when did he grow so fast?"

"I'm not that short even before this, Kikumaru senpai." Ryoma defended himself.

Kikumaru pouted for a while. Suddenly, he smiled brightly again and glomped the junior high captain. "At least he's still cute and cuddly!"

"Eiji!" "Kikumaru!" Both Oishi and Tezuka chided him at the same time.

All eyes turned to the ex-captain as one. While it was normal for Oishi to keep his hyperactive doubles' partner in check, it was abnormal for Tezuka to suddenly blow up like that.

Tezuka's face was as expressionless as ever, though Ryoma could see that he looked like he was embarrassed and gave a smirk.

"The sushi's getting cold. You'd better let Echizen-buchou eat it while it's still hot." He gave a lame excuse.

"Hoi, you're right. Ochibi needs to eat more so he'll get taller."

"Kikumaru-senpai…" Ryoma frowned.

"That was very outspoken of you, Tezuka. By the way, isn't sushi already cold?" Fuji said softly once Tezuka was seated next to him, so that only the other could hear. Tezuka's ears turned slightly pink. Nearby, Inui started scribbling madly in his book again.

"Echizen. The groups have been done for tomorrow's selection. Do you want to take a look?"

"Usu." He held out a hand and took the book Inui handed over to him.

"Let us see it too." Kikumaru said curiously as Ryoma placed it on the table.

"Oh? Echizen has been sent to group A. Hmm…quite a number of students you have there. Ah. Momoshiro and Kaidou are in group C. I wish I could see them fight."

"Ahaha…that would be interesting." Fuji chuckled.

"Tomorrow's a Saturday, so there wouldn't be tennis practice for us. How about we go pay our old school a visit?" Oishi suggested.

He cast a glance at Tezuka, who thought about it for a moment. "Alright then. We'll bring our regulars along to have a look."

Ryoma looked surprised. "You've already had your regulars' selection? That was fast. School had just started a little over a month ago."

"Ah well, we just decided to push the date forward…" Oishi laughed nervously. Ryoma had a feeling all the Kanto High students were not telling him something.

Inui was the first to leave. "I have some things to deal with now. I must take my leave. See you all again."

"Bai bai!" Kikumaru waved.

Inui had just stepped out of the shop when a girl barged in.

"_Oh Ryoma! I found you_!" she spoke in English.

Aside from the ones with better English scores like Fuji and Tezuka, the others took a while to pick up what she had said, since she had spoken so fast.

Ryoma gave a disgusted look at the girl and pulled down his cap to hide his face.

"Ochibi! Who's that?" Kikumaru asked.

"No one of importance." Ryoma said quietly.

The girl gave a high pitched giggle that had all the hairs standing on their arms.

"The name's Tina. Teeeeeeeeeeeeeeenna. I'm Ryoma's girlfriend." She said in a false girly voice. Her pitch was a cross between a squeal and a shriek when she said all the 'eee's. She was now speaking in heavily accented Japanese.

"Girlfriend?" Fuji wondered aloud. Ryoma noticed that the tensai's eyes were opened slightly.

"I'll fill you up on something, senpai-tachi…" Ryoma took a deep breath and began to explain.

_During Monday's practice_

"_Let's do our best! The selections would be held this Wednesday. Be sure to come on time. You're all dismissed." Ryoma had announced at the end of practice._

_He gave a tired sigh and kept his racket. Momoshiro thumped him on the back._

"_Aren't you excited, Echizen? Time sure flies and it's the selections already. I can't wait to fight all those schools again." Momoshiro grinned._

"_I can't wait to fight Hyotei and Rikkai Dai. I still owe Kirihara one for his violent match."_

_(A/N: In the manga, Ryoma had a match with Kirihara once, but in the anime, Ryoma never fought Kirihara, except when they selected players for the US-Japan match)_

"_Ahaha…you still hold a grudge against him huh…say, Echizen. Looks like Ryusaki-chan and Tomoka-chan are looking for you." Momoshiro suddenly said, looking outside the fence._

_Sure enough, Sakuno and Tomoka were standing there. Sakuno was looking awkward while Tomoka was fuming about something._

_No sooner had Ryoma walked over to them when Tomoka exploded. "Ryoma-sama! Who is this girl to you?"_

_Ryoma then noticed that there was a third person with them. She was rather chubby and had very thick glasses magnifying her eyes. As her eyes fell upon him, a grin broke out onto her face, showing very large teeth._

"_Oh, Ryoma! My prince! I've finally found you!" she said in English._

_To all of their disgust, she lunged forwards and tried to hug the tennis prodigy._

_Fortunately, with his tennis reflexes, he stopped her by putting two fingers on her forehead. (She was that short)_

"_Who are you?" he demanded._

_The girl blinked her huge, magnified orbs at him, then suddenly burst into a wail that caused a lot of people to stop and stare._

"_How could you forget me, Echizen Ryoma! We were so close back then in America!"_

_Sakuno looked saddened, while Tomoka look fit to wallop the girl with her tennis racket._

_A sudden look of realization came onto Ryoma's face. "Ah. You're that Tina Joou-inu!"_

"_That's right! How could you forget Teeeeeena!" she said happily._

_Ryoma immediately proceeded to ignore her. "I met this girl by chance on a bus when I was in America during the holidays. She must have recognized my face from a tennis magazine, and had been stalking me ever since." He explained quietly to Sakuno and Tomoka._

"_I'm his girlfriend!" the girl said happily._

_Ryoma sighed as he felt a headache coming. "Please excuse her. She's mental."_

Back to present time

"I see…interesting girlfriend you have there." Oishi commented, trying hard not to laugh.

Both Ryoma and Tezuka twitched at that. "She's not my girlfriend…" Ryoma corrected.

The girl gave a loud squeal, causing all the boys to flinch again.

"That's so mean, Ryoma! We even kissed back in America."

Tezuka choked on his sushi. Ryoma's scowl became worse. "I don't consider that kissing! You took my drink without my permission and you called that indirect kissing?"

"Yup! That cup had your lips touching it before." She said, not realizing that by now, the whole sushi shop was looking disgusted.

Ryoma buried his head in his hands. "Give me a break…I can't believe you followed me back all the way to Japan…" he groaned.

"You said her name was Joou-inu right? So Joou means queen, while inu means dog right? What an odd name, that would make it Tina Queenbit…" Before Kikumaru could finish the word, Oishi and Fuji had slapped their hands over his mouth.

Tina ignored him. "Ryoma. Walk me home." She demanded.

"Yadda." Ryoma replied instantly. He wanted to walk home with Kunimitsu.

Once again, she gave her supersonic shriek. "Walk me, walk me, walk me..!" she demanded more furiously.

She was causing such a ruckus that even Kawamura Takashi came out from the kitchens.

"Excuse me, miss. Could you lower down your voice a little? You're disturbing our other customers."

"I don't care! I won't stop until my Ryoma walks me home!" she yelled on the top of her voice.

Ryoma gritted his teeth. Looks like there was no way out and he didn't want to cause trouble to Kawamura senpai. "I understand. Let's go." He said, casting an apologetic look at Tezuka. He thought he saw his boyfriend's face darken.

Tina clung on to Ryoma's arm as both of them left the shop. He silently counted to ten in his heart. 'Just bear with it. Think about tomorrow's selection. Just think about tomorrow's selection…' He reminded himself to keep his sanity…

To be continued…

A/N: Gah…this chapter was kinda lame. A thousand apologies. The character Tina was created cause of…personal reasons. Just decided to do some character bashing to release some stress. No offense intended to the ones who coincidentally have the same name.

Initially, I thought of putting the regulars' selection in this chapter as well, but that would really cause the chapter to be too long. The selection would be in the next chapter.

Also, I would be temporarily stopping this fic, as I wish to update Life After Seigaku first. The plot for this one is already so far, I had better let the other story catch up with this one's pace before continuing. So sorry bout that.

Well then, please read and review, and tell me if it's alright to let the character Tina remain in this story?

**-Gwynhafra**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. Only my original characters belong to me.**

**Warning: Contains spoilers for latest manga chapters. Shonen-ai fic. Contains very annoying original character. Also, my chapters tend to be very long.**

**(This chapter is followed by Chapter 7 in Life After Seigaku)**

**By the way, as my fic is only rated K+ and I don't think I'd be setting a higher rating, mushy scenes would be kept at a minimal. Also, I would have to censor any form of foul language that may appear in the story by either putting a (beep) or replacing it with another word. Good luck trying to find those censored words.**

**For example: 'What the FXCK' becomes 'What the fruit'**

**So if you find any word that is out of place, it might be just a replacement for the actual swearword. XD**

**Pairings: Tezuka X Echizen, Momoshiro X Tachibana Ann**

A/N: So sorry for the wait. Finally Life After Seigaku's plot has managed to catch up with this fic, so I'll be posting both at once again. I may have to stop this fic anytime again though, as Life After Seigaku has a far more complicated plot, and therefore would be having more chapters, so the plot of this fic would always be one step ahead as it is quite direct.

**Momoshiro: About time! How could you keep us from making an appearance for so long? You can't do that eh, you can't do that.**

**Echizen: I don't really have a problem with that...**

**Momoshiro: Of course you don't! You were making cameo appearances in the other fic. Gwynhafra, you mean authoress! You abandoned us!**

**Kaidou: Fsshh!!!**

**Gwynhafra: Gomen, gomen. At least you'll be making your appearances again.**

The reactions for the OC Tina were quite incredible. However, I regret to say that Tina is staying for a few more chapters. I need her to serve a purpose before I get rid of her. XD

**Echizen: You can go get rid of that one. I don't mind.**

**Momoshiro: You're such a shy guy, Echizen. Admit it. The both of you had been dating in America. (grins)**

**Echizen: (Death glare) Don't make me feed you this tennis ball with my tornado twist serve...**

Thank you **Old Fiat** for Kachiro and Katsuo's full names. Needed them for this chappie.

Also, thank you **Lorelai** for pointing out to me about the mistake I made in the scene at Kawamura Sushi. Have already corrected it and replaced the chapter.

Well then, to the story…

**Echizen, Our Buchou**

By: Gwynhafra

Chapter 5

"Must not lose to him! Must not lose to him!..." a bunch of first years dodged as Seigaku's vice-captain and snake-shot player dashed past, both of them engaged in a race to the tennis courts.

Horio, Kachiro and Katsuo were already there as the two third-years burst into the courts. "I'm first!" both of them yelled at the same time. They began another glaring competition.

"Senpai-tachi…we're already nervous enough as it is. Don't make us feel worse…" Kachiro looked like he was going to pass out from fright.

He met the two's stare and gave a meep, hiding behind Katsuo. "Just admit it, Mamushi. You entered the courts three seconds after I did." Momoshiro snarled.

"I was here first, slowpoke. Fsshhh…"

"Oh yeah? You were running like a snail! With that kind of speed you won't be able to beat me!"

"You tripped over your feet with every few steps. Obviously I reached here first." Kaidou retorted.

"Ne. The both of you are noisy. Could you keep it down?" Ryoma suddenly spoke up behind them, causing both of them to jump in surprise.

Ryoma smirked at the both of them. "By the way. I'm first. You'd have to snatch over the second and third places. Aren't you two going to take a look at which groups are you in?" he jabbed a finger in the directions of the boards, where four lists were pasted.

"Must not lose to him!" the both of them raced there, causing Ryoma to sigh. "Honestly…how childish." He muttered.

Meanwhile, the three little pigs were walking towards the D courts. Horio smirked. "To think that all three of us are placed in the same block. So sorry, you two. But I won't go easy on you today. I'll let you borrow my Seigaku jersey though, if you asked me nicely."

"That's a horrible thing to say, Horio-kun." Kachiro snapped at him.

"You're saying it as if we've already lost." Katsuo agreed.

Horio looked smug. "It can't be helped. With my three years of tennis experience, I can already predict the outcome. Well, I can't wait to have a match with Echizen-buchou. Such a pity he's in Block A…" he bumped into another second year by accident. Instead of apologizing, Horio snapped at the guy. "Watch where you're going!"

The boy, who had jet-black hair and equally dark eyes, merely gave him a glance from the corners of his eyes, then looked away, deciding that Horio wasn't worth his notice. Horio was left fuming there. "He's so rude…" he complained.

"You're not in the position to say that, Horio-kun." Kachiro sighed.

They reached Court D soon enough. Third year Keita was the referee, as his match would not be so soon.

"Let's do our best, minna. Ah…I can't wait to play." The ever optimistic player said.

"Eh? Wasn't your match supposed to be in Block A? What are you doing here?" Kachiro asked.

"Well, buchou asked me to be referee for Block D first. I'm just following orders."

A shadow came over the three little pigs, and they gulped, turning around slowly.

"Your captain Echizen had asked me to inform you. Anyone who had lost more than 3 matches would not qualify as a regular. However, you will be entitled to a free drink from this jug." Inui held up a pitcher that contained jet-black liquid. Like Chinese ink.

All three of them squealed.

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Applause broke out from Block B just fifteen minutes after the selections started. Momoshiro stepped out of the courts and went to where Inui was seated. "Momoshiro Takeshi. Block B. 6 game to 0." He told him.

Inui nodded, writing down the score on the board. "Definitely expected of a former regular." He said.

Not too long later, applause broke out from Block C as well. Kaidou stepped out. Seeing a bunch of first years giving him awed looks, he gave a hiss, causing them to scurry off in fright.

"Kaidou Kaoru. Block C. 6 games to 0." He told Inui his score.

"Ceh. You really are slow, Mamushi." Momoshiro taunted.

"I can take you on anytime…" Kaidou challenged.

"Hoi hoi! The both of you have already finished your games? Aw…I can't believe we're late." Kikumaru's cheery voice announced the arrival of the Kanto High regulars. The acrobatic player latched himself on Momoshiro.

"Eiji!" Oishi sighed.

"Wasn't both Momoshiro and Kaidou supposed to be in Block C? Why is Momoshiro in Block B?" Kikumaru asked.

"They changed the order at the last minute, as there were too many players in C, while someone from B was absent today." Inui explained.

"Hmm? So this is the atmosphere of the Seigaku selections." Asakawa, a first year regular at Kanto High, said while looking around the courts.

Atobe, who was the vice-captain of Kanto High's tennis team, gave a snort. "This is nothing. Back in Hyotei, we even had cheerleaders for the selections."

Tezuka was the only one who did not say a word as all the others began talking about whose school's selections was better.

"Ah. You're all here already?" Ryoma's voice spoke up. His golden eyes sparkled with delight at the sight of his seniors, though angry sparks flew again as both he and Atobe gave each other a silent challenge.

Momoshiro nudged Ryoma at that moment. "Yo, buchou. That girl is looking for you again. Very unusual girlfriend you have there. Your tastes are really abnormal."

Sure enough, that 'Teeeeeeena' was standing just outside of the courts, wearing a dress with clashing colours of pink, green and muddy brown. Apparently, she had tried to sew Ryoma's face on her dress, because the blob on her outfit had the name 'My Prince' on it.

"Ryoma! My Ryoma! Marry me!" she shrieked on the top of her voice, and the poor Seigaku captain found the gaze of everyone in the school on him.

Ryoma felt like killing himself on the spot. Maybe he'd even get Kunimitsu to help bury him. "How did she come into this school?" he groaned.

"Nice dress. Is that a squirrel wearing a cap?" Momoshiro snickered, his eyes on the picture sewn sloppily on her front. Kaidou failed to suppress a chuckle.

The next moment, Ryoma had pinned them with an icy glare that made beads of sweat roll down their foreheads. "Momo-senpai. Kaidou-senpai. 30 laps around the courts…" he ordered in a low, deadly voice.

"Hai!" they ran, not wishing to provoke him further.

"Hoi!Hoi! Looks like Ochibi is more of a sadist than Tezuka had been." Kikumaru stated.

"So this is the Seigaku captain all of you have mentioned, the one who made it into the regulars as a first year?" Asakawa asked.

"Indeed, Asakawa-kun." Fuji said with his ever present smile.

Asakawa shook Ryoma's hand. The Seigaku captain merely stared at him without any emotions on his face, though he looked slightly uneasy at his hand being touched.

"Hi. I saw you quite a while back at the clinic where Tezuka had his hand treated, but we have not been formally introduced. I'm Asakawa Kantarou, one of the regulars for Kanto High and Fuji's doubles partner. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu."

Ryoma blinked at him with his golden orbs. "Echizen Ryoma. Yoroshiku."

(A/N: For all those who don't know about this, Yoroshiku is a greeting used when first meeting someone. It means something along the lines of "it's a pleasure to meet you")

Asakawa gave a nervous laugh, looking intimidated by Echizen's anti-social nature.

"He at least shows more expressions on his face than Tezuka does, but they roughly have the same nature. It'll take time to get used to the both of them." Eiji whispered.

Ryoma cast a glance at his new fangirl/stalker as she was now hopping about more energetically. He gave a groan and covered his face with his cap.

Tina apparently had started a new chant.

"Give me an R! Give me an I! Give me an O! Give me an M! Give me an E! Give me an R! RYOMA!"

All their jaws dropped in horror. Kikumaru was now rolling on the ground laughing so hard that tears were leaking out of his eyes. Oishi was trying to calm him down, though the sight of Eiji laughing like that was causing him to chuckle too.

Atobe smirked. "Echizen. To think that your head fangirl can't even spell your name properly. I wonder who's Riomer? Ore-sama's cheerleaders have never gotten my name wrong."

Ryoma ignored him. He stopped a passing 1st year member. "Tell Itsuki to prepare for his match. I'll take over the position of referee for Block D."

"Hai. Buchou!" the boy scurried off. All of them could hear him calling out to Keita at a distance.

"I'll be going then. Feel free to look around. After the selections are over Momo-senpai and I would inform the members of your presence, as I can't halt the matches now. Inui…could you do something about that Tina?" Ryoma said as he left.

"Ii data…" the data tennis player gave an evil snicker as he walked past, and the Kanto High regulars gladly made way for him, not wishing to get in his way.

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In Block D

"At last! It's my time to shine! Kachiro, you'll lose to me in 15 minutes." Horio boasted, rubbing his nose.

Ryoma gave him a stare that asked him plainly to just keep quiet. Obviously, however, the second year did not hear him. "Are you two going to start yet?" the captain asked.

Horio gave Ryoma an arrogant look. "Well. You'll just see my skills soon enough. I reserve the best for the matches. Just make sure you call the scores."

"Fifteen love." Ryoma said.

Horio blinked. He glared at Kachiro. "I wasn't even prepared yet! That's cheating!"

"The game has already started. It's your fault for not concentrating on the ball, and Kachiro scored perfectly." Ryoma chided him.

It was obvious that Kachiro had been training with that father of his. His shots were fast and accurate, making even Ryoma look slightly impressed. "Heh. Interesting." The captain said to himself.

"Game count, 3 games to 0. Kachiro lead." Ryoma announced after barely 10 minutes.

Just then, they could hear a loud shriek across the courts. Tina sounded like she was dying, a sign that whatever Inui had given her to drink was really effective.

"At least now there's peace and quiet." Ryoma muttered, smirking slightly.

A powerful shudder ran through Kachiro's body. "There's no way I'm drinking that!" he yelled.

It seemed like he had turned into a different person, with his shots pinpointing the corners accurately. Horio was no match to him at all.

"Game and match, Kachiro. 6 games to 0. You've lost 3 times already, Horio-kun. Douzo." He held up one of the Chinese ink-like substance.

"I'll return and haunt you, Echizen-buchou!!!" Horio yelled before he passed out, with black froth spewing from his mouth.

Katsuo, who was in the court just next to Kachiro's, won his game by 6 games to 0 as well, and the two best friends walked out to give Inui their score.

"Well. Looks like quite some hidden talents uncovered." Echizen adjusted his cap, looking pleased.

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In Block B

"Oh! It's Arai-senpai's turn!" Several second years hurried to the B courts to watch the match.

Kachiro and Katsuo were among those gathered there. "Looks like Arai is most likely going to become a regular. He hasn't lost a single match so far." Kachiro said. He hated the idea of that cocky, showoff third year becoming a regular, but at this rate, it was unavoidable.

"Seems like Arai is fighting a sophomore. Honestly. I do hope the guy beats him. I think I work better with Mamushi than Arai-kun." Momoshiro stated, looking relaxed as he was already qualified as a regular, seeing that he hasn't lost a single match and he only had one match left.

"Who want to work with you? Fsshhh…" Kaidou gave a hiss, throwing Momoshiro a disgusted look.

"You're right. Working with you would only cause our team to lose, baka Mamushi."

"Momo-senpai. Kaidou-senpai. The match is starting." Katsuo hurriedly cut in before the courts were mutilated by the dunk smashes and snake shots flying all over the place.

Arai stared down at a boy who was about a head shorter than he was. He had dark hair and dark eyes. At the moment, the sophomore's gaze bore into his eyes, causing Arai to be slightly agitated.

"What are you looking at?" Arai demanded.

Abruptly, the sophomore raised a finger and pointed at Arai, startling the third year and making him step back involuntarily.

"You had eggs with ketchup for breakfast. Also, this morning you tripped over your pet dog. The one with brown fur, not white." He said all that in one sentence.

Arai was left blinking dumbly. "H-how did you know all that?"

The sophomore did not answer him. Instead, he just turned around and positioned himself, ready to serve.

"1 set match. Takahiro to serve!" the referee called out.

Inui's glasses glinted at the name. He began searching his bag, pulling out a very old notebook and rifling through it.

"Ah. Is it _him_?" he muttered aloud.

"Hora! Kid! Your shots are all so weak! I'm going to be a regular after this!" Arai boasted.

Takahiro's face did not change at all. The next moment, the sophomore had scored at one of Arai's blind corners.

"Check." Takahiro muttered.

"Check?" Kachiro and Katsuo asked at the same time. They looked towards Inui for confirmation.

Inui did not reply to their silent question. Instead, his eyes were focused on the sophomore, while his hands were busy taking notes.

This happened a lot of times. Takahiro would use very weak shots against Arai, then all of a sudden he would score at a corner which Arai couldn't catch.

"Kuso!!! I'm not going to lose to a junior!" Arai fired one extremely powerful shot.

"Getting serious, I see. I was waiting for that…" Takahiro countered the shot easily. The ball flew in one graceful arc, then landed on the borderline behind Arai before rolling away.

"Checkmate." Takahiro said and walked off the courts, not bothering to listen to the scores.

"6….6 games to 0." The referee announced after Takahiro had gone to Inui to give his score.

Inui was giving Takahiro an odd look. When the sophomore had left, Kachiro and Katsuo came to the data player.

"Looks like Arai-senpai no longer qualifies as a regular. Who was that? Inui-senpai?" they asked.

Inui flipped through his book. "Takahiro Haruka, bloodtype O, born May 1st. Back in his old school, he was known as the 'Chessmaster'. He's a tennis genius as well, though not the same kind of genius as Fuji or Oshitari, as he doesn't really make up new skills. Instead, he's a strategist, as his mind can think extremely fast during a match, and he could simulate a plan to defeat the opponent with whatever skills he has. He only creates new skills against very powerful opponents. He has not lost a single match so far."

Inui closed his book. "I have not really kept a tab on him. I didn't realize he was in this school. So far, his style of playing is very similar to my data tennis, except that he doesn't calculate everything as accurately as I do."

"Hmm…interesting…" They turned to see Ryoma standing just next to them. "Ryoma-buchou. How long have you been listening to us?" Kachiro asked.

Ryoma shrugged. "Long enough. Well, I wouldn't worry too much. That guy's next opponent would be Momo-senpai. I think Seigaku's trickster should have something up his sleeve."

"He's powerful. Momo-chan fukubuchou had better be careful. You should have seen him. Just before the match, he guessed that Arai had eggs and ketchup for breakfast. Also, he guessed that Arai tripped over his dog with brown fur, not white."

Ryoma raised his eyebrows in astonishment at that. "He noticed? He's sharper than I thought. Arai-senpai had a bit of yolk and ketchup on his jacket. It was a really tiny spot, and you couldn't have noticed it unless you're really observant. Also, there were some white and brown dog fur on Arai's clothes. So we can guess that he had at least two dogs at home. One white, one brown. There are faded stains on the knee area of Arai's pants. He must have tripped and tried to brush off the dirt from his pants once he got back up. Also, the assumption that he tripped on his brown dog was because the lower part of his pants had a lot of brown fur. His dog must have gotten in the way, and the fur was stuck to Arai's pants when he tripped over it."

Ryoma turned around with a slight smirk. Takahiro was standing there, his expression unreadable. "Am I not right, Takahiro-kun?"

"You've said it accurately, Echizen-buchou." Takahiro looked mildly impressed, though they couldn't tell for sure, as he was another expressionless type like Tezuka.

"I'll have to go for my match now. Would be facing Itsuki Keita." Ryoma jogged off.

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Block A

The match had already started for 6 minutes, and Ryoma was leading by 3-0.

"Don't worry. The next score would be mine." Keita said happily.

"Honestly…is this guy for real?" Ryoma muttered to himself. With Keita bouncing about like that, he found it increasingly difficult to play against the senior seriously.

"Game count, 3 game to 1." The referee announced. Ryoma gritted his teeth, disgusted by the amount of mistakes he made.

"Oh? So even Echizen-kun is affected by him." Inui raised his eyebrows. "Ii data…"

"Keita-senpai is a speedy player, isn't he? All his shots are fast and accurate, not to mention his movement speed is great too. But isn't Ryoma-buchou much better than that?" Kachiro asked.

"Of course. However, Keita has this eternally optimistic character that would keep his spirits high even if he was losing by…say…5 games to 0. With him being so cheery, opponents find it hard to take him seriously, and for the ones with lower willpower, it would even kill off their morale as the game proceeds. I think your captain won't have this problem though."

They watched as Keita scored yet another point against Ryoma., making the game count 3 games to 2.

Inui suddenly chuckled. "Looks like Keita-kun's in trouble. Take a look at Echizen's eyes. He would not be affected by Keita's trick anymore."

The captain's golden orbs were narrowed, his attention now fully concentrated on the game. It seems that his hate of losing has finally kicked in.

"4 games to 2!" the referee announced.

"It's alright. Nothing to worry about! The next shot would be better." Keita said cheerily.

Ryoma was not affected by it at all of he swiftly finished the game, winning by 6 games to 2.

"Good game! I definitely can't wait to play against you again!" Keita grinned, not at all upset by his lost.

"Ceh…" Ryoma snorted before leaving.

"That's definitely our captain." Kachiro said, looking amused.

"Keita-senpai sure is optimistic, seeing how his spirits are still up." Katsuo said admiringly.

Inui adjusted his glasses. "I wonder if he should be called incredibly optimistic, extremely annoying or barking mad…"

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Block C

"Fsssh…." Kaidou readied himself against Tsun, swaying from side to side a little to prepare his reflexes.

"I would not go easy on you, especially since you were a former regular player." Tsun warned.

"1 set match. Tsun to serve."

Tsun did a normal serve, which Kaidou used to fire a snake shot. Tsun countered easily.

Inui was now at the side, taking notes. Kaidou had his experience as a regular player to help him, but Tsun was a very tough opponent, as Kaidou was having difficulties trying to get past the other third-year's defenses.

"Tsun Minori, Bloodtype A, defensive and counter-attacker. If you attempt to go head on with him, you would lose for sure. However, he has one weakness. I do hope that Kaidou could spot it soon enough or he would lose for sure."

Kaidou did a boomerang snake, which was countered by Tsun. Again.

'He must have a weakness somewhere…' Kaidou thought to himself. The score was tied at 4 all, and Tsun began to serve again.

'Gah! Another normal serve! Is he trying to prompt me to shoot my snake shot? Why else would he always start off with a normal serve all the time…wait a minute…'

Kaidou decided to switch to play defensive, forcing Tsun to play offensive. Sure enough, the shots were rather weak. As Tsun came to the net to catch a ball Kaidou served, Kaidou took the chance to hit a smash at the unguarded space behind the third-year.

"Game. Kaidou! 5 games to 4." The referee announced.

"Kaidou-senpai scored!" Kachiro and Katsuo cheered.

"Looks like he found out. Tsun Minori, extremely powerful in defense and counter attacking, but weak at playing offensive." Inui chuckled.

"Game and match, won by, Kaidou! 6 games to 4!"

"Kaidou's a regular player now. So is Tsun, as he only had one loss." Inui stated.

A loud gasp from Block B caught all their attention.

"Eh? Who's playing now? Oh wait! Isn't it now the match between Momo-chan fukubuchou and that Takahiro?"

"How could we miss it?!" The two of them ran over to see the match.

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Block B

"Deuce!" Ryoma announced.

"Again…" one of the first years groaned. The match had dragged on for a long time, and currently the score is 6 games to 5, with Takahiro leading.

By now, Horio had finally regained consciousness from the Chinese ink experience. He walked rather shakily to the court to see the match as well.

"Ah! Isn't that the guy who bumped into me just now? That extremely rude second year!" Horio exclaimed.

Kachiro and Katsuo gave as sigh. Since when did the boy bump into Horio? Wasn't it the other way around?

"Has my Ryoma-sama's match ended yet?" Tomoka asked, jogging over with Sakuno right behind her.

"You've missed it. He is definitely a regular now, as he hasn't lost a single match so far." Kachiro told her.

Tomoka gave a sigh. "Mou…I can't believe we missed Ryoma-sama's match."

Sakuno patted her friend lightly. "It can't be helped. The girls' tennis team was having the selections as well."

"Yup! I am proud to announce that from this day on, Sakuno and I are regulars!" Tomoka couldn't keep the glee from her voice, while Sakuno blushed.

"Oh. Congratulations." Kachiro and Katsuo clapped.

Horio shushed all of them. "Be quiet! I want to see Momo-chan fukubuchou's match!"

Tomoka peered into the courts. "Kyaa! My Ryoma-sama is referee! He's just so cool sitting over there! Ryoma-sama! Over here!" she waved frantically to get his attention.

Ryoma gave a sigh and focused on the match instead, ignoring his head fangirl completely. He didn't know who was worse, the fangirl or the stalker. It was a good thing the stalker at the moment was still knocked out by who knows what Inui gave her, or he might ask Momoshiro to referee his _own_ match while the captain flees to save his eardrums.

It was obvious that Seigaku's trickster was giving Takahiro a hard time, as he was very unpredictable. Takahiro's eyes were narrowed with concentration. Ryoma couldn't help wondering just how fast the boy's mind was working now. Would he be able to come up with a strategy to beat Momoshiro's trickery?

"Deuce!" he announced again as Momoshiro managed to lure Takahiro away from one of the corners before throwing a smash there.

"It wouldn't be good if the vice-captain lost to a new member. You can't have that, eh. You can't have that." Momoshiro said with a grin.

Takahiro gave him an emotionless stare. "You have a date with a girl later."

Momoshiro's jaw dropped. "How…Why you little…!"

"Deuce." Ryoma gave Momoshiro an amused look. "With your hair gelled like that, your collar ironed and your shirt tucked in nicely, I'd have to agree with Takahiro-kun."

"Oh be quiet, Echizen-buchou." Momoshiro's face turned red.

Takahiro gave a sigh. "Looks like I'd really have to play seriously or I wouldn't stand a chance against you, fukubuchou."

"Bring it on!" Momoshiro hit a dunk smash.

Takahiro countered with a technique that was similar to Fuji's Higuma Otoshi, except that it seemed to be an unperfected version of it, as it flew back up, right at Momoshiro.

"Heh! Your counter failed!" Momoshiro hit yet another dunk smash, and Takahiro used the same counter.

With that, it kept repeating over and over until even the audience was bored.

"No matter how many times you use that counter, I would still be able to hit it." Momoshiro grinned.

A small grin appeared on Takahiro's face. "You seem to be enjoying my pawns. My Queen moves now."

Momoshiro had hit another dunk smash, and this time, Takahiro's counter caused the ball to fly just over the net before landing on the ground gently. Momoshiro couldn't counter it in time, as he was still in mid-jump.

"Checkmate." Takahiro said calmly.

He walked off the court just as Ryoma announced. "Game and match. Won by, Takahiro. 7 games to 5."

"Ceh… I can't believe I fell for that." Momoshiro snorted.

"What's going on, Inui-senpai?" Horio asked.

Inui frowned slightly. "Momoshiro's dunk smash is very lethal, and he takes great pride in it. If he has the chance, he would use it as a finishing blow. What Takahiro-kun used to counter is a skill of the same type as Higuma Otoshi, meaning using the whole body's strength to weaken the force of the smash before hitting it back at the opponent. As mentioned, Takahiro-kun is a chessmaster, so his shots play different roles. They either play the role of a pawn, as bait, or a knight, to clear a way for his King and Queen to make a move, or his finishing blow, the Queen. His King would be used as a last resort. Those weak counters he did were his pawns. His main aim was to get Momoshiro to lower his guard down, so he repeatedly used the same counter. In the same way, Momoshiro uses the dunk smash every time the ball flew back at him. Momoshiro doesn't realize that his body had unconsciously gotten used to that rhythm, so every time Takahiro counters, his body would automatically react by leaping and doing a dunk smash again. Once he did, Takahiro simply had to hit a shot under his feet, like what we saw just now."

"That…that's scary…" Horio gulped.

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"Alright members. Get in line please." Momoshiro called out.

The members hurried to do so. Ryoma and Momoshiro stood facing all of them, with Inui by their side.

"Alright. The selections have been done. We will now announce our regular members. For all those whose names are called, please step to the front." Inui said.

He looked at the list in his hands. "The ones who qualify as a regular are…sophomore-Echizen Ryoma, third-year-Momoshiro Takeshi, third year-Kaidou Kaoru, third-year-Tsun Minori, third year-Itsuki Keita, sophomore-Kato Kachiro, sophomore-Mizuno Katsuo, sophomore-Takahiro Haruka."

The regulars stepped out as their name was called. Ryoma and Momoshiro stayed put at their positions. Only one person did not walk out.

"Takahiro-kun. If you would come forward please." Inui called again.

Takahiro raised a hand from where he stood.

"Please give my position to someone else. I'm leaving the club." He stated, walking off.

Whispers broke out amongst the members. Even Inui looked shocked. "Why would you do that, Takahiro-kun. You won the position fair and square."

The boy paused halfway to the door. He turned around slightly. "Tennis is…boring. I joined the club after seeing how well Seigaku performed last year. However, everything is just too predictable. There is no challenge at all."

Ryoma blinked. This guy sounded just like his former self. Ryoma had played tennis only to win against his father, but thought the sport itself was dull and mundane. It was only after Tezuka smacked some sense into him that he came to think differently of the game.

He cast a glance at Tezuka, whose eyebrows were slightly furrowed. Tezuka looked back at him with a silent message. No words were needed, as Ryoma knew what the former Seigaku captain was saying.

The next moment, Ryoma had blocked Takahiro's path, preventing him from leaving.

"Ne. The regulars' positions of this club are really valuable, you know. If you treat it that lightly, you'll have to serve a penalty." Ryoma said.

Takahiro looked expressionless, though Ryoma could detect annoyance in the other's eyes.

"I've already said I'm leaving. I have nothing to do with this club anymore."

"Oh? I don't recall receiving your resignation letter." Ryoma smirked.

Now Takahiro looked irritated. What was this crazy captain trying to do?

"Since life is so boring for you, it will be the same dumb routine everyday, wouldn't it?. Why are you in such a hurry to run away then? There's nothing worth your interest out there."

"If you have something on your mind, then just say it clearly!" Takahiro scowled, finally showing some changes to his facial expression.

Ryoma leaned closer to him, and Takahiro found that even with his insight, he cannot read this captain at all.

"Let's have a match. Should make life more interesting for the both of us. If you win, I will gladly forfeit my position as captain, and you are free to reform this club to suit you. If I win, you will stay on as a regular. Also, you will have to do hundred laps around the courts."

The other sophomore stared at Ryoma for a while, considering his words.

"Well. I've defeated the vice-captain. Might as well defeat the captain as well." He took his racket out of its case and headed towards one of the courts in Block A.

Ryoma adjusted his cap. "Ne. Momo-senpai."

"What is it, Echizen-buchou?" Momoshiro looked down at the younger boy.

Ryoma gave him a smile, his golden eyes twinkling with slight mischief. "Should anything happen to me, I'll leave the club in your hands then." He walked to where Takahiro went.

"Oi! Echizen! Don't joke about things like that. It's bad luck!" Momoshiro yelled.

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"Echizen…is going to give up his position as captain…?" Horio wailed.

"Noooo! Ryoma-sama!" Tomoka sobbed.

Just half an hour into the match, Ryoma had barely scored even a point against Takahiro, and now the score was 2-0.

"Ochibi! You must not lose!" Kikumaru's voice could be heard from one side of the fence.

It seemed that Ryoma was completely trapped by Takahiro's pace, and the chess master was playing seriously even from the start, unlike in his match with Momoshiro.

Inui was happily updating his notebook. "To think that I would be getting so much data at once, though all the data I'm getting are Takahiro-kun's. Echizen is not playing seriously at all."

"Eh?"

"Echizen is just being himself. He tends to not fight seriously in the start as he observes his opponent, then he would come up with a way to beat his rival." Oishi agreed to Inui's statement.

"Aa." Was all Tezuka said.

"You're much better than this. By the way you hold your racket, that's not your playing arm!" Takahiro looked insulted.

Ryoma merely smirked in reply. "You're right. About time I played seriously." He switched his racket to his left hand.

Very quickly, Ryoma tied the scores at 2 all.

Takahiro's mask returned, so that Ryoma couldn't read him. However, the Seigaku captain smirked. "Ne…your shots are getting inaccurate. Are you really that agitated?"

Takahiro aimed at a corner, and the next moment Ryoma was already at the ball, hitting it back with ease. Takahiro then fired a smash at the other corner which Ryoma left unguarded. To his surprise, Ryoma was already there, and the boy countered it with a perfect Higuma Otoshi.

_How did Echizen move so fast?_ Takahiro wondered.

"It will do well if you do not underestimate me." Ryoma said, his golden eyes stern.

The strategist player's mind was at the moment working out a plan to defeat the Seigaku captain. However, with Ryoma's ever changing play style, his mind was conjuring up more than 20 different possibilities, so that he was getting more and more confused as the match drew on.

Before long, the score was 5-4, with Echizen leading. Momoshiro gave a low whistle. "That guy is tough, if he could win 4 games from Echizen in just 45 minutes. Wonder what will our captain do now."

Inui flipped through his book. "Our dear Echizen had better be careful. Chess can sometimes be a prolonged game. As the match draws longer, Takahiro would become more focused, and his mind would be sharper. On the other hand, his opponent would have already been worn out."

Takahiro fumbled and accidentally hit a high ball. "Chance!" Momoshiro yelled.

To their surprise, Ryoma merely backed off a little and hit it back normally.

"Why didn't Echizen use a smash?" Kachiro wondered.

Ryoma's golden eyes looked bored. "Hey. Use your main chess pieces. I have no interest in fighting pawns."

"Very well then…" he fired a shot so powerful, it had the force of Kawamura's hadoukyu, and it took all of Ryoma's strength to counter it.

"Heh…this is your knight, isn't it? I wonder what other skills would I be able to see." Ryoma hit an easy ball back at Takahiro.

The boy lowered his racket a little and hit a drop shot, though it was one that Ryoma had never seen before. The ball touched the net, rolled over to the opponent's side, then proceeded to roll _down_ the net before hitting the ground and coming to a complete stop.

"5 games all!" Inui announced.

Ryoma looked highly impressed. Had Takahiro really put his heart into it, he would really be the same type of genius as Fuji.

"This looks troublesome…" he said to himself. This must be Takahiro's king.

The match went on longer, and Ryoma had managed to get another point, so the game was now 6-5. Takahiro's eyes had become more focused as one hour passed…though, so had Ryoma's.

He hit his king again, and the ball flew towards the net. "Check!" he smirked.

To his surprise, the ball did not roll down the net. On the contrary, it bounced before flying to Ryoma, who did a Returning Swallow.

"Checkmate." Ryoma said, lowering his racket.

"Game and match, won by, Echizen. 7 games to 5." Inui announced.

Ryoma adjusted his cap. "Mada mada dane. Takahiro-kun. You lost."

"How did that ball bounce…?" Takahiro wondered aloud.

"Ah. I just did something to flip your whole chessboard over. You were playing according to my pace for the whole of the last match." Ryoma did not proceed to elaborate further. It was Inui who spoke up.

"The Tezuka Zone. Echizen had been using the Tezuka Zone for the whole of the final match, so naturally the ball returns to him."

Takahiro stared at the retreating back of his captain. He gave a sigh. "Looks like there is a possibility that tennis might be interesting after all. Very well. I will stay in the club until I come up with a strategy to beat you, Echizen-buchou."

"Hmm? You seem to be forgetting something." Echizen's eyes narrowed, and his voice became deadly. "100 laps. Go!" he ordered.

Takahiro went to do his rounds.

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With that, the regulars now stood before Echizen-buchou and Momoshiro fukubuchou once more.

This round Takahiro was amongst them, though he was emitting such a cold aura that Katsuo, who stood beside him, inched closer to Kachiro instead, leaving a narrow gap between himself and the chessmaster.

"I congratulate all of you who have managed to become regulars. Do not forget that our target is the Nationals. We'll have to work hard to make that dream come true." Ryoma told all of them.

"Before I forget, we have some visitors who have come to take a look at our selections. Most of you know some of them already. Please welcome the regulars of Kanto High School." Momoshiro led the applause.

The second years and third years who have been in the club applauded the loudest. "Oishi-fukubuchou! Kikumaru-senpai! Fuji-senpai! Tezuka-buchou!" they cheered.

Oishi chuckled. "Looks like they're still thinking of us as captain and vice-captain, Tezuka."

"I'll introduce them to you. Starting from the left- Oishi, who was the vice-captain before Momoshiro-senpai, Fuji, the tensai of Seigaku, Kikumaru, the acrobatic player, Tezuka, the captain before me and currently captain of K-High's tennis club, Asakawa, who was from Okane Gakuen,Yamato, the captain before Tezuka, Kira, a third year at Kanto High, and Atobe, formerly captain of Hyotei Gakuen and now vice-captain of K-High tennis club."

A few of the members gasped. "A-A-Atobe?! What is he doing in the same school as senpai and the rest? And he's vice-captain? I thought he'd be captain."

Atobe twitched. "Ore-sama have been very generous to let Tezuka take that position instead. Also, am I not free to go to any school I want? With all my wealth, I can even buy Kanto High for my personal use."

"Atobe…" Tezuka frowned.

Katsuo jumped when he felt someone breathing down his neck. Apparently Takahiro had leaned over to him.

"Ne. That guy they call Tezuka. Isn't that the same as the name of the skill Inui-senpai had mentioned? The Tezuka Zone or something like that?"

"Ah…yes." Katsuo said with a hand over his pounding heart. "He's a super powerful tennis player. In fact, he has even defeated Echizen-buchou before. The Tezuka Zone was one of his skills before Echizen-buchou learnt it too during the Nationals, when he fought against Atobe Keigo."

"Ah. I wonder if I could come up with a strategy to beat this Tezuka…" he looked mildly interested.

Katsuo gave a weak laugh. Was this guy so eager to beat everyone he sees?

"That's the end for today's selections. You're all dismissed." Ryoma announced.

The Seigaku members thanked Echizen, Momoshiro and Inui before all of them dispersed. Most of them went to have a chat with the K-High regulars.

Ryoma noted that Takahiro spoke with Tezuka when he passed, though he spoke softly and the golden eyed boy couldn't hear him. Tezuka could hear him though, for the K-High captain had _blushed_.

Ryoma's eyes narrowed. Once Takahiro had left the courts, Ryoma was beside his boyfriend in a flash.

"What was it the both of you were talking about?" he asked curiously, trying to keep the suspicion from his voice.

Tezuka looked uneasy. "Nothing important. That guy just used his observation skills to point out something. He really is too sharp. You did well in your match with him."

Tezuka's reply at least had calmed down Ryoma's suspicions. He wondered what was it the sophomore had pointed out that could make Tezuka blush like that.

"Ne…buchou. The usual place later right?" Ryoma's eyes sparkled.

Tezuka smiled slightly. "Aa."

Nearby, Momoshiro had been chatting with Kikumaru. He spotted Ryoma chatting with Tezuka.

"Looks like the predecessor and successor are on good terms." He noted.

"That's right nya. I'm glad Ochibi didn't challenge him to a match upon seeing him."

Just then, Ryoma said something to Tezuka and there was this expression on the captain's face that Momoshiro thought looked familiar. Now where had he seen that before…oh yes! Wasn't that the look he had on his face when he saw his _beloved_ cat Karupin? In fact, this expression was even gentler than that. Why the hell would Ryoma be gazing at Tezuka like that? It's freaky! Momoshiro shivered. He really should stop thinking too much.

He gave a glance at his watch and yelped. "I've gotta run now! Ann-chan is waiting for me! See you all tomorrow." He ran off, one hand trying to smoothen the wrinkles on his shirt.

"Shall we go too, Kunimitsu?" Ryoma asked softly.

"Aa."

Before either of them could take a step out of the court, Tomoka had rushed in first and latched herself onto one of Ryoma's arm.

"Ryoma-sama! Let's walk home together!" she said happily. Sakuno blushed and cast Ryoma an apologetic look that said 'Sorry. I couldn't stop her.'

Ryoma shook his head. "Not today. I have an appointment with someone."

Tina then popped up on Ryoma's left, seizing his free arm. "That's right! He already agreed to go out on a date with me. Back off, (beep)!"

"Who in their right mind would go on a date with you?" Ryoma muttered darkly.

"Why you beach! Ryoma-sama! So you're going out with _this _woman?"

"That's right! He's my boyfriend, so of course he has to walk home with me." Tina insisted.

"I never said anything of that sort. Besides, since _when_ am I your boyfriend?" Ryoma threw her a withering look.

Once more, Tina went into supersonic mode, and Ryoma wished his could pull his ears off. "So mean! So mean! So mean!" she yelled in her girly voice.

She halted for a while when Tezuka laid an arm on her shoulder. Ryoma shivered at seeing the K-High captain's face. He looked pissed.

"Echizen-kun had made an appointment with me. Now if you'd excuse us." Tezuka's mask was still intact, so Tina most likely didn't realize that the senior high student had murderous intent. Ryoma, for one had long learnt to read all of Tezuka's masks.

She shook her head stubbornly and clung on to his arm tightly. Ryoma his arm go numb from the lack of blood circulation.

"I don't want to be separated from my prince. If he's going with you, I'll follow along then." Tina insisted.

"I'll follow too." Tomoka seized Ryoma's arm tighter, and Ryoma could not feel both of his arms now, as he was the living prize for the tug-of-war between these two girls.

Tezuka looked ready to explode, but Ryoma spoke up first. "Buchou. I'm afraid I'd have to postpone our appointment." While none of the Kanto High students told him about what was going on in their high school, he could read, from their expressions that they were hiding something from him, and whatever it was, it was giving them a lot of stress and taking a toll on their emotions. Because of that, he at least had to make sure his Kunimitsu came into as little contact as possible with his two fangirls. Those two would definitely shorten Tezuka's lifespan with all the stress they would give, and Ryoma couldn't have that now, could he?

Tezuka's eyes widened in surprise. _Please understand_. Ryoma pleaded silently. After a while, Tezuka had put on a mask on his face that even Ryoma couldn't read.

"I understand." He said in a dead voice.

Ryoma felt a twinge in his heart at seeing that Tezuka was disappointed. He opened his mouth to apologize, but Tina was already tugging on his arm.

"Let's go, Ryoma." She said happily.

"He's coming with me." Tomoka retorted.

Ryoma sighed and resigned himself to being the two girls' escort home, with Sakuno following behind all of them.

To be continued…

A/N: Ohohohoho! I think all of you are going to kill me for putting such a damper on Ryoma's date. Oh well, do tell what you think of that.

Of all my 3 original chars, I like the anti-social, eccentric chessmaster the best. He just popped into my mind out of the blue one day. Takahiro is actually the name of my favourite voice actor, while Haruka is the name of the character he played in one of the animes. I wonder if any of you could guess who he is. Hint, he shares the same surname as the one-handed hadoukyu player in Fudoumine.

As for the other two, Tsun Minori's name was thought of at random. Itsuki is the nickname for my cousin, while Keita is the name of one of the members of the band, W-inds. My cousin used to like that band.

What do you think of the original characters? I will try not to make too many, as I know the majority of readers dislike OCs. Might have to make some for the other schools, since their third year players have left as well. Now having fun trying to mix and match the characters in my other story. I would be putting the four doubles players of Hyotei (Oshitari, Gakuto, Shishido, and Choutarou) in the same school. Wonder who I should put to join them? Feel free to give suggestions regarding the combinations of players for each school. The ones from Kanto High and Rikkai Dai are already set though. I wonder which lucky teams would get Tachibana Kippei and Takahisa…

Also, hope you all can give suggestions for the school names. If I'm lazy, I might come up with another baka name like Chibi Gakuen. XD

**Be warned though, not all of my chapters are happy and fun-filled. Some chappies would contain angst.**

Anyway, pls read and review.

-Gwyn


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. I only own my original characters.**

**Warning: Contains spoilers for latest manga chapters. Mild angst in this chapter. Shonen-ai fic**

**Parings: Tezuka X Echizen, Momoshiro X Ann.**

**(This chapter is followed by Chapter 8 in Life After Seigaku)**

A/N: Hmm...I think there was a general agreement about Tina. Most of you really seem like you want to barbeque her. Oh well, she would serve her purpose in this chapter, and she would most likely be a minor character in chapters to come.

**Thank you all for your reviews so far**. When I began typing this chapter, was in a mild slump, but fortunately I managed to recover or this chapter would be left hanging.

**Trumpet-Geek**, thank you for your feedback regarding the Chessmaster. I'll see what I can do to improve him. Don't worry, I'm not offended, as I do appreciate suggestions like these. It would help me improve my stories. (grins)

Oh well, to the story...

**Echizen, Our Buchou**

By: Gwynhafra

Chapter 6

Echizen Ryoma actually hated three flaws about himself.

Firstly, he was an apathetic person, and had little feelings for anything or anyone, as he just couldn't seem to be able to hold on to any feelings he had for long, except perhaps his love towards his cat Karupin. When Tezuka entered his life, his world began to change, as he became more emphatic instead. However, that was not good enough, for the second flaw was stopping him from shaking out of his apathy.

Said second flaw was his severe inability to express himself properly. Ryoma always felt guilty every time he went out on a date with Tezuka, for he knew that his face was permanently in a smug mask. Also, he tends to say the wrong things at the wrong time.

Thirdly...he was terrible at saying no, or at rejecting the suggestions of other. Currently he was doing a demonstration of the third flaw...

"Ryoma, I want to sit next to you." Tina said during recess.

Ryoma gave her a cold, disinterested look that clearly said he would most rather sit next to cat poop, though Tina did not seem to get the hint.

"Someone's already there." He said bluntly.

Tina gave a hiss at a girl, who was the unfortunate one for choosing a seat next to Ryoma. "Move aside!" she snapped, and the girl hurriedly did so.

Tina then gladly sat down next to the Seigaku captain, snaking an arm around him. Ryoma scowled, getting up quickly. "I've eaten. Goodbye." He tried to leave.

Tina wailed loudly, causing the whole cafeteria to go silent as all eyes were on their table.

Ryoma hurriedly sat down, trying to hide himself. At least the girl had shut up when he did so. "That's better. You haven't touched any of your food." She whined.

Ryoma groaned. It wasn't helping that Momoshiro was snickering. The vice-captain sat opposite the green-haired prodigy, and he looked like he was enjoying the show.

Ryoma frowned as Tina took a spoonful of his food and ate it, even though she hadn't asked him for his permission first. He turned green as she next took another spoonful and held it before him. "Open up! Say ah..."

"Listen, Joou-inu. As I've said before, I'm not interested in..." The next moment, Tina had shoved the food into his mouth, and the poor Seigaku captain ended up choking.

Tina looked delighted. "We kissed! We kissed!" she squealed happily. Momoshiro was now grinning worse than ever, while the whole cafeteria was looking at them curiously. Whispers began breaking out everywhere.

"Ne, Echizen. Both you and Joou-inu chan really make a nice couple. One so inexpressive, one so overly-expressive." Momoshiro grinned.

Echizen's head poked out from behind the table once he had stopped choking and could breathe again. "Shut up, Momo-senpai."

Tina had blushed. "See. Even Momoshiro had agreed that we are a great couple. Why are you still so shy?"

"We're not a couple. Hell, I hardly even know you!" Ryoma snapped.

Once more, Tina burst into loud tears. Ryoma immediately tried to pacify her, as she was attracting too much attention. "Alright, alright. I take that back. Will you stop crying now?" he asked desperately.

She stopped immediately. "Yay! You admitted we're a couple!" she said happily.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Ryoma buried his face into his hands. This was one of the reasons why he hated himself. He could never say a proper 'no'. More often than not, he wondered how Tezuka was able to have such a commanding presence. He could probably make a complete stranger run laps just by giving the order.

"I won't disturb you two lovebirds then." Momoshiro said, taking his tray and getting up to join Kachiro and Katsuo's table instead.

"Momo-senpai!" Echizen snarled at the vice-captain. This would be the last time he ate in the cafeteria ever again.

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Kachiro and Katsuo flinched as once more they felt Horio give them a glare. The tennis player with his three years of experience had been bitter and surly as his two pals were chosen as regulars, while he was not.

"I don't understand how the both of you could become regulars. I, Horio-sama with my three years of tennis experience..." Horio mumbled yet again.

Kachiro and Katsuo sighed. While they continued to tolerate Horio's continuous boastings and childish antics, frankly speaking, they were getting tired of them.

Their eyes fell upon their classmate. Echizen was at the moment seated at his place, which was next to the window, and Tomoka and Tina were having a catfight over him, as usual. Tina had transferred into Seishun Gakuen on Monday, though she had been placed into Tomoka and Horio's class, much to her dismay. Horio had told Ryoma about their daily catfights, and while Ryoma was not the one at fault, it didn't stop the teacher from sending him to detention for 'causing chaos.'

"I pity our captain. It's obvious that he doesn't like her in the least bit, yet she's clinging on to him like that."

"Ah. Ryoma-buchou probably doesn't know it himself, but he is one of the top 5 most spoken about males in this school. I think more than half of the female population has a crush on him. Currently the rumour about him dating that girl had already spread throughout the whole school."

"There would most likely be a storm soon." A low voice said suddenly, causing both Katsuo and Kachiro to jump in their seats.

Takahiro Haruka, who was their classmate as well, gave them an expressionless stare in return. All of the tennis clubs members were slightly intimidated by the eccentric Chessmaster, as he would occasionally give nonsensical comments like 'The grass is green' or 'I see dead people'. Perhaps the only one who could actually get close to Takahiro was the happy-go-lucky, equally insane Itsuki Keita.

The bell rang to signal the end of recess. Ryoma looked highly relieved as the girls had to return to their class. Horio cast one last surly look at Katsuo and Kachiro before leaving.

As students began to return to class, Ryoma got up from his seat and walked over to where Kachiro, Katsuo and Takahiro were.

"Ne. Be sure to be punctual for practice later. The inter-school's competition is just two weeks away. I believe Momo-senpai would have informed the third years too."

Kachiro gulped. It had always been his dream to become one of the regulars, but now that he really was one, he had the urge to run away though, as his nerves were getting to him.

The Seigaku captain seemed to have seen that. "Oh? Do you have that little confidence in your skills? It's not easy to become a regular, you know."

Kachiro felt guilty at Ryoma's words of 'encouragement'. "Gomen, Ryoma-buchou. I was just nervous..."

The green haired captain smiled slightly. "Don't worry. Don't think too much about winning or losing, just put your heart into it and play your best. Also, you don't have to look that guilty. I'm not offended."

As Ryoma went back to his seat, Kachiro was flooding the table with happy tears. "Ryoma-kun is really so nice!"

"Ah. Compared to last year, he really had changed a lot...well, if you don't count the fact that he is still bratty and arrogant." Katsuo nodded.

"Love can move even mountains." Takahiro said, and both Kachiro and Katsuo sweatdropped. Would there be anyone in the world who could understand this guy's weird quotes?

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"Looks like Seigaku would not be having any problems this year." Inui commented during practice.

Ryoma stood next to the data player, observing everyone's performances. He had ordered for them to play doubles this round. Kachiro and Katsuo were doing extremely well, as the trust they have towards each other could rival that of the Golden Pair's. Tsun and Itsuki were a great combination, being best friends. Also, with Keita's extremely happy go lucky spirit, it helped to boost his partner's morale as well.

"Ne, Inui-senpai. I think it was a bad idea to put _those_ two in doubles..." Ryoma muttered.

For Kaidou and Momoshiro were now having yet another heated argument, and Kachiro and Katsuo were looking frightened.

A third year who was referee tried to calm them down. "You two, please return to your game." He called out.

The next moment, he found both their glares pinned onto him. "Uh...alright...go ahead and continue your fight then." The referee squeaked.

"Both of you have forfeited your game. Kachiro-Katsuo pair wins the match. 10 laps now!" Ryoma ordered.

"Echizen-buchou..." Both of them began to protest.

Ryoma raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? You have something to say? Very well, let's have a match. If you can beat me, I'll run both your laps. But if you can't, you'll both have to run 40 laps each."

Momoshiro grinned. "Bring it on!" he said.

10 minutes later...

"Oh? How many laps already?" Ryoma smirked. Both Momoshiro and Kaidou refused to answer that question, as they were busy racing to see who could finish their laps first.

"Echizen-buchou really is a sadist..." Kachiro and Katsuo shivered. Now that they were regulars, they no longer stood with Horio, who had to join the other second years. Instead, they joined the other regulars, who had the whole court A to themselves.

"Haruka-chan! Shall we try playing doubles?" Itsuki asked cheerily.

Takahiro twitched. "Don't call me by my name. You're not someone close to me. Also, don't you dare use 'chan' on me."

Of course, the eternally happy player took no offense in the words. "We might not be close now, but I'm sure we'll be best friends in no time, just like Minori and I. Ne, Haruka-chan. Shall we play doubles?"

"I don't play doubles." The introverted Chessmaster said in reply.

"I think it's a good idea. Why don't you give doubles a try, Haruka-chan?" Ryoma said evilly.

Takahiro gave an expressionless stare in reply, though Ryoma had long learnt to see the emotions behind the masks, considering he was dating an expert at it, and he knew that Takahiro was annoyed.

"It's settled then! Minori, could you partner with someone?" Itsuki was now clinging on to an increasingly annoyed Takahiro and was bouncing up and down excitedly.

Tsun nodded. "Alright then...eto...who should I partner with?"

His gaze landed on Ryoma, who deliberately looked elsewhere, with "I don't play doubles" written all over his face.

"I'll be your partner. I've always wanted to try playing against the Chessmaster. Ii data..." Inui began laughing evilly to himself.

Ryoma raised his cap a little. "Heh...data tennis player against strategist. I wonder who is better."

He looked up to see both Momoshiro and Kaidou charging into the courts. "40 laps!" they both said at the same time.

"Oh. You're both back. Well done." He ignored the glares they threw at him.

"One day...Echizen-buchou...you'll be the one running." Momoshiro promised, trying to catch his breath.

"Hmm? I hope we're not too old to play by that time." He gloated. He jerked his thumb in Inui's direction. "Those four would be playing doubles. I would need one of you to referee for them, while another one of you would referee for me." Ryoma ordered.

"Heh...This looks interesting. I'll referee for..."

"I'll referee for Inui-senpai. Baka Momoshiro can referee for you, buchou." Kaidou cut in before Momoshiro could finish the sentence.

Momoshiro knew that Kaidou was just as eager to see what the match would be like, with Inui playing in it.

"Oi! Mamushi! I wanted to see Inui-senpai's match too."

Kaidou ignored him and walked towards the first court, where the four were getting ready.

"Kachiro-kun. Katsuo-kun. Pair up. You'll now be practicing against me." Ryoma ordered.

"Hieee!!!" the two sophomores shrieked.

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"Straight shot, 100 percent!" Inui fired Takahiro's shot back at him.

A number of Seigaku's members were now watching the match, and they all found out just why was Inui a former regular. Even the Chessmaster could barely stand a chance against him.

Takahiro's expression didn't change, though Keita seemed to be getting livelier, even though his team was losing.

"Never mind! We'll take the next shot!" he said.

"Probability of a smash, 75 percent." Inui warned. Sure enough, Keita did a smash, and Tsun countered it easily.

"Warui, Keita. I will not go easy on you just because you're my best buddy. Know that none of your shot can get past my defense." Tsun said.

"Is that so? Try this!" he fired a shot at Inui instead.

Inui smiled. "Probability of a shot in my direction, 95 percent." He hit it back, and the next moment, Takahiro had come up to the net, hitting a drop shot.

"Racket lowered by 4 millimetres. Drop shot, 80 percent." Inui was at the net. He hit the ball towards Takahiro's direction, only to find the strategist studying him.

Takahiro then fired a shot behind both Inui and Tsun. "Check." He said calmly.

"Game, Takahiro-Itsuki pair. Game count, 5 games to 4. Inui-Tsun pair lead."

'I see. He's trying to lure me out with his pawns? I'll have to identify them quickly.' Inui thought.

A small smile spread onto the chessmaster's face before vanishing as quickly as it appeared. "Seigaku's data master huh...interesting."

Meanwhile, in the next court

"What's wrong? Tired already?" Ryoma asked, his voice heavy with arrogance.

Kachiro and Katsuo were panting heavily, as the game count was now 5 games to 0.

"Do you have to play so seriously, Ryoma-buchou? Can't you go easier on us a little?"

"Yadda." Ryoma replied immediately.

He switched his racket to his right hand. "I'm going to serve. Remember that if the both of you do not win even a round against me, you'll have to drink that." He pointed to the steaming jug of octopus juice on the bench.

He grinned as the both of them stiffened.

"Mada mada dane. You both really are no match for me. In fact, if you can even win a game against me, I'd drink that whole thing."

"You'd better keep your word, Echizen." Momoshiro said, amused.

Immediately, both Kachiro and Katsuo had a drastic change in their characters.

"I'm not drinking that! I don't want to die so young!" Katsuo wailed, returning the twist serve with such ferocity that the green-haired captain actually had to duck to avoid it. Ryoma blinked in surprise. What on earth...?

"Mommy!" Kachiro swung his racket, and Ryoma's racket was knocked out of his hand when he tried to catch the shot.

Before long, the game ended, with Ryoma being the winner. But the game count was 6 games to 2. Ryoma twitched. He had lost two games?!

"I...need to go to the washroom." Ryoma tried to escape, but Momoshiro had a hand on his shoulder, trapping him on the spot.

"Are you trying to run away? You can't have that eh, you can't have that. Bottoms up, captain." Momoshiro held the mug of Octopus juice up.

A yell rang through the tennis courts...

Back to the first court

Itsuki laughed. "Echizen-buchou seemed to have really enjoyed your drink."

Inui's glasses glinted. "I wonder why he would end up drinking it. Then again, there was a 35 percent chance that he would make some kind of stupid bet against Kachiro-kun and Katsuo-kun, considering his bratty nature. I think he might have lost the bet."

The game felt endless. Takahiro had his strategies so well thought out that Inui, with all his calculations, could not find a way to get past the chessmaster's defenses.

"Let's go!" Keita cheered, his shots now getting faster.

"Oh dear. Looks like Keita is done warming up." Tsun said.

"Hmm...that is good data indeed." Inui muttered to himself.

Itsuki was now playing offensive, and Inui's data was what saved both he and Tsun from losing.

As Takahiro fired a speedy serve, Inui hit it towards Keita.

"Bai bai!" Keita returned the shot so fast that both Inui and Tsun could not catch it.

"He's really scary when he gets serious. His speed could really give Fudoumine's speed demon a run for his money." Inui said thoughtfully.

"Ne, Inui-senpai. Have you gotten all their data yet?" Tsun asked.

"Aa. That Chessmaster was really tricky, but I've managed to identify all his pawns. We have to defeat him when he uses his king." Inui told his partner softly.

Takahiro fired a shot that looked like it was going to be out, but Inui was already there to hit it back.

"A buggy whip shot, just like Kaidou's snake. You really have a lot of skills, don't you?"

Takahiro's face did not even change as he hit towards the opposite corner.

Before Tsun could rush after it, Inui had gotten there first. "Stay where you are, Tsun. This is a pawn."

Takahiro twitched slightly. This data tennis player was as troublesome as that sophomore captain.

"There is a 55 percent chance that he'd be using his knight anytime now." Inui muttered.

Sure enough, Takahiro aimed a shot at the borderline.

"You'd better get that one." Inui told Tsun.

"No problem." Tsun returned the shot.

Takahiro then used his queen, firing his power shot.

Inui returned it again, a small grin spreading on the data tennis player's face.

Takahiro then hit that drop shot of his, the ball hit the net...and did not roll down.

Instead, it bounced, and Inui hit it easily over the net.

Takahiro looked stumped as Kaidou announced the score; Inui-Tsun pair wins the match, 7 games to 5.

"That's the second time someone had managed to cause my skill to fail..." The Chessmaster muttered.

Inui adjusted his glasses. "I've just gotten all your data. While I may not have the Tezuka Zone to fight against that nasty skill of yours, I realized that to use that drop shot, you needed a topspin, just like Fuji Syuusuke's Tsubame Gaeshi. So I made sure that all my shots at you have no spin, crippling your skill."

Inui walked away, while Keita was now bouncing beside Tsun, looking happy. "I've lost. Never mind, that sure was fun!" he said happily.

He then bounced over to Takahiro. "Don't worry about it, Haruka-chan. Losing once in a while is a nice change of pace, isn't it?"

Takahiro's eyes flashed. He was not used to tasting defeat, and to think that he would lose two games in such a short time after joining the club.

Well, looks like life might be interesting after all indeed, as he now had two targets to defeat.

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"Ne. Echizen. You back to the world of the living yet?" Momoshiro grinned.

"Be quiet..." Ryoma groaned. That really tasted like crap. He would not be touching any octopus for the next 10 years...

Momoshiro looked outside the courts. "Oh? Your girlfriend is not here yet?"

"I don't have a girlfriend." Ryoma said bluntly.

Momoshiro grinned. "How dishonest. Everyone in this school already knows about your confession in the cafeteria."

Ryoma gave him a disgusted look. How did he end up in this situation.

Momoshiro gave a sigh. "Ah...how nice. Even you are dating now, and I wouldn't have thought it possible. I'm so jealous of you young people."

"What are you talking about? You're only a year older than I am. Also, aren't already dating Tachibana's little sister?"

"Don't call her Tachibana's little sister! It's Ann-chan. Such a cute name." The vice-captain had gone into love struck mode.

Momoshiro had stopped calling Ann-chan as 'Tachibana's little sister' when they began dating, sometime before the Nationals last year. Of course, the dunk smash player had proclaimed about his girlfriend so often that the whole school knows about it already. Aside from a protective older brother and Tachibana's ever loyal underling/speed demon to look out for, Momoshiro and Ann's relationship was smooth sailing.

Just then, Tina could be seen outside, and hurriedly Ryoma tried to hide behind Momoshiro's much larger form.

Momoshiro grinned. "So shy. Go on. Your girlfriend is looking for you." He waved, trying to get Tina's attention. "Oi! Your boyfriend is here!"

"Momo-senpai..." Ryoma growled, but Tina had already thrown open the court's door and latched on to him.

"I've-got-you!" she sang happily.

"No outsiders allowed in the tennis courts." Ryoma immediately said, frowning.

Tina rubbed her cheek against the tall captain's jersey. "I'm not an outsider. I'm your girlfriend, so I should be given some priorities."

Ryoma sighed. He wasn't good at pushing others away, and could only hope that she would let go of him eventually, which doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon.

"I'm still in the middle of practice. Go away." He hissed.

Tina smiled brightly. "I'll wait for you, and we'll go home together." She said brightly. With that, she went to the bench, but the sight of Inui's Octopus juice sitting there caused her to go white, and she opted to wait outside the courts instead.

Practice went on for another 15 minutes before Momoshiro decided to call it a day, ignoring the captain's protest. Ryoma had wanted practice to go on forever so that he could avoid the 'date' with Tina.

Ryoma winced as he remembered something. Speaking of dates, looks like he'll have to cancel his tennis date with Tezuka.

Right after the members had been dismissed, Ryoma clicked his speed dial.

After just a ring, Tezuka picked up. "Ryoma." The K-High captain sounded delighted at hearing his voice, making Ryoma feel guilty.

"Kunimitsu...I'm afraid I can't make it today too." Ryoma said glumly.

On the other end, Tezuka had gone quiet. "I see..." he said after a long while. Ryoma's heart nearly stopped, as he thought he had detected anger in the other's voice.

"I'll try to make it up to you..." Ryoma began, but Tina was now next to him and tugging his arm impatiently.

"Mou, Ryoma! How long are you going to keep me waiting? Let's go home together." She yelled to get his attention.

"I'll have to leave now. Bye." Ryoma hurriedly ended the call, as Tina looked like she was about to snatch the phone out of his hands, and he might do something stupid if she was ever rude to Tezuka.

"See you tomorrow, buchou. Have fun with your date." Momoshiro grinned, waving them off.

They had barely left the area when something heavy landed on Momoshiro's head.

"Ow!" he complained, looking up.

Inui was right behind him, and the data tennis player's glasses were flashing angrily. Apparently the heavy thing that landed on Momoshiro's head was Inui's notebook.

"Momoshiro-fukubuchou. I would appreciate it if you do not make any matchmaking attempts for our dear captain." The data tennis player warned.

Momoshiro snorted. "What's the big deal? He seems to like her, considering he had never pushed her away."

The next moment, Momoshiro found a nice steaming jug of Wasabi juice in his face.

"Do try to remember that I'M the data tennis player, not you, and my judgment can be really accurate. If you truly care for your friend, stop what you're doing immediately. I'm giving this as an advice...no...as a warning to you."

Inui pinned him with one last stare before leaving. Momoshiro made a face at him once he was out of sight. "What's his problem? That Echizen would not be having this chance often. I doubt that boy would want to be a bachelor all his life now, would he?" Momoshiro chuckled at that thought.

He kept his racket. Oh well, Inui wouldn't have to know now, would he? Ryoma and Tina did make a suitable pair, so why pass up the chance?

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Days later

"Ne...Momo-senpai. Remind me what am I doing here again?" Ryoma asked, with one hand supporting his head as he looked bored.

Next to him, Tina was resting her head on his shoulder...or at least she tried to, but as she was too short, she was resting her head on his arm instead.

Momoshiro grinned. "I've suggested a double date and you agreed." He said, giving his girlfriend Ann's hand a squeeze.

"Takeshi...honestly. How would a double date be nice?" Ann frowned, though her tone was playful, not scolding.

"You've been curious when I mentioned that Echizen had a girlfriend, so I brought both of them here." He smiled at her in reply.

Ann observed the both of them. They sure made an unusual couple. Tina looked like she was keeping Ryoma on a leash, while Ryoma looked like he wanted to die.

"So you're both dating?" Ann asked.

"Yes!" "No!" Both Tina and Ryoma replied at the same time.

Ann said nothing as she merely smiled. "I see."

Their food arrived, and Tina began eating noisily, while Ryoma absent-mindedly toyed with his food without touching anything.

'I'm so sorry, Kunimitsu...' Ryoma thought. This had been the fourth time in less than a week that Ryoma had stood the K-High captain up. Currently, he was feeling very miserable.

He threw a glare at Tina from the corner of his eyes. How did he end up getting such a clingy stalker anyway? He would most gladly go out with Tomoka instead, who was much more tolerable compared to this _thing_.

"Eh? Echizen, you're not touching your food." Momoshiro stated, with his mouth still full of food.

"He wants me to feed him, of course. Say 'ah'" Tina held up a spoonful.

Ryoma obeyed, having learnt that her supersonic shrieks were activated very easily, though he felt sick as soon as the food touched his lips.

"I wish to go to the washroom." He excused himself quickly. Tina of course clung to his arm as he walked off.

Ann stared at the both of them. Once they were out of earshot, she tugged lightly on Momoshiro's sleeve.

"Takeshi. Are you sure they're really dating?" she asked.

"Of course. Would Ryoma let her touch him otherwise?" Momoshiro grinned, his mouth still full of food.

Ann made a face and helped to clean his mouth with a tissue. "It doesn't feel like he likes her at all. In fact, he seems really unhappy."

"What are you talking about? He'll warm up to her eventually. He's just too shy and introverted at the moment."

Ann gave him a serious stare. "Call it a woman's intuition. Echizen-kun doesn't like her at all."

The dunk smash player laughed her statement off. "He'll reject her if that's the case, but seeing that he doesn't, I don't see how he could possibly not like her. I'm sure he does, deep down."

Ryoma returned, looking worse than ever. "I'm not eating." He stated.

"Alright. I'll eat it then. It'd be a pity to waste all these food."

Tina slapped his hand away. "Don't even think about touching something my Ryoma had already eaten. It will be disgusting if you did indirect kissing with him." she made a face.

Momoshiro winced at the mental image. "I suppose you're right..." Next to him, Ann was looking murderous at her boyfriend's hand being touched.

"In that case I suppose we're all done. I wish to go home." Ryoma said, getting up to pay the bill.

"Ah well. Let's go then. You two can go on your own date. Ann-chan and I will go on ours." Momoshiro grinned.

Tina gave a dreamy sigh. "A date with my Ryoma. This really is too romantic!" she squealed. Next to her, Momoshiro whispered something to Ann, who giggled. Moments later, Momoshiro bent down to kiss his girlfriend.

Tina gave a squeal of delight, causing both of them to pull apart hurriedly, their faces red as Tina had caused many of the passersby to stare.

"Let's do that too." She told Ryoma, going on tiptoes to kiss him.

Ryoma's eyes widened with shock, though his inborn reflexes reacted immediately, drawing out his pocket science notebook and placing it strategically between both of their lips, so that she kissed the picture of the brain on the book instead.

Momoshiro began laughing. "How cute, the both of you."

Ann on the other hand was not looking at the both of them, as she was staring at a distance behind Tina.

Ryoma's gaze followed hers, and his jaw dropped in shock.

For Tezuka was standing there, looking stunned.

"Oh? Tezuka-buchou. What a coincidence! The four of us are on a double date." Momoshiro gave a yelp of pain as Ann suddenly stomped on his foot to shut him up.

Tezuka's eternally expressionless face turned to Ryoma. "I understand. I won't disturb the four of you then." He swung around and walked off.

Ryoma was rooted to the spot for a while. Finally he got back to his senses at seeing that Tezuka was walking further and further away from him. "Please excuse me a while." He dashed after his boyfriend, ignoring Tina's squeals behind him.

Once Ryoma caught up with Tezuka, he tried to call out to the other captain. "Kunimitsu!"

Tezuka did not look back as he walked on.

"Kunimitsu, please don't be mistaken. There is nothing between her and I."

"Four times..." Tezuka suddenly said.

Ryoma blinked. "What?"

Tezuka finally turned to him, and Ryoma's heart nearly stopped beating as his golden eyes met Tezuka's dark, blazing ones.

"That was four times you've turned me down, and I find you running around with your girlfriend, and now you tell me there's nothing going on between the both of you?!"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Ryoma snapped back. His mood was already extremely sour as it is.

Tezuka gave a bitter laugh. "I see. So your public display of affection was a practice for a drama competition, I suppose."

Ryoma's face reddened. Tezuka had misunderstood! "You...!" he began.

Tezuka turned away from him. "I'm tired of hearing all your excuses. I'm tired of trying to convince myself that you are dating me because you might have some feelings for me, cause you have none. You have never taken _us_ seriously in the first place."

"Kunimitsu!" Ryoma said desperately. Would Tezuka just stop and allow him to explain?

Tezuka turned back to face him, and the sight of Kunimitsu's sad eyes broke Ryoma's heart.

"Please, just leave me alone. I wish to be alone for now, _Echizen_." With that, Tezuka walked off again, and this time Ryoma was hit by the blow of the K-High captain's words so badly that he could not even muster up the energy to chase after him.

Tezuka did not look back. Not even once...

To be continued...

A/N: Ahem. I think most of you are going to kill me after this. Please try not to throw flames at me. I don't like fire. Ehehe. (Builds fortress to hide in)

I suppose this chapter was rather predictable, considering my previous chapters were hinting towards it. Oh well, do tell what you think of this.

As mentioned, not all my chapters are fun-filled, so I hope you've all braced yourselves for this one. There will be worse ones in chapters to come.

Before I forget, I'm afraid that it'll take me quite a while to update the next chappies, as I'd be away on a holiday for the Christmas season. So sorry bout that.

Please **read and review**.

-Gwyn


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. I would be so happy if I could have Tezuka and Ryoma, but I can't. Sobs...**

**Warning: Spoilers for latest manga chapters. Shonen-ai fic. Mildly OOC Tezuka and Ryoma. Not ALL chapters are happy and fun-filled, as some chapters contain angst.**

**Pairings: Tezuka X Echizen, Momoshiro X Ann**

**(This chapter is followed by Chapter 9 in Life After Seigaku)**

A/N: Thank you (most of you anyway) for being so patient with me. So sorry for the late update. Now a few shades darker after the holidays. Was at the beach. Hehe.

I'm glad that I wasn't blasted for updating so late. Also, it seems like there is someone else who likes the same voice actor as I do. Maybe I should start a Takahiro fanclub. Kekeke. Only two people know which voice actor I was talking about though.

**Thank you all for your reviews. I'm very grateful.**

Will cut down on my A/N. To the story then...

**Echizen, Our Buchou**

By: Gwynhafra

Chapter 7

"Echizen! What do you think you're doing?" Momoshiro snarled for the umpteenth time that day, snapping Ryoma out of his dazed state.

Ryoma turned to look at him stupidly. "Huh?" he asked before a tennis ball connected with his skull seconds later.

Momoshiro gave an irritable sigh. It had been like this for the past 2 days already. The Seigaku captain was probably the only person in history to have ever opened the fourth door of the state of self-actualization, the Pinnacle of _Imperfection_.

Ryoma stared blankly at the tennis ball that had rolled to his feet. It took him a whole minute to recognize it as a tennis ball, and another minute to finally feel the pain of being hit in the head.

"Oh. I'm in a match?" he asked Momoshiro, causing most of the Seigaku club members to fall over.

"Of course you are! You've been in a match for the past 30 minutes already, in case you haven't realized it yet!" Momoshiro snapped back.

While Ryoma was in zombie mode, Momoshiro on the other hand was in a terrible temper, for two days ago...

"_I wonder what's taking that guy so long to return to us?" Momoshiro stared at Tezuka and Ryoma, who looked like they were having an exchanging of words, though none of them could hear what they were saying as the two were so far away. He frowned. Tezuka was usually not one to speak much, so what could possibly make the K-High captain yell at Echizen like that?_

_Tina was tapping her foot on the ground impatiently beside them. "If he's not back in two minutes, I'll scream!" she yelled in that shrill voice of hers._

_Momoshiro paled. "Oi! Echizen! Come back already!" he yelled. He would rather become best buddies with Kaidou than to hear Joou-inu screaming. She could cause the earth to shake with that voice of hers._

_Tezuka then walked away from Echizen, but to Momoshiro's surprise, Ryoma merely stayed rooted to the spot. After quite a while, the Seigaku captain walked away, looking slightly unsteady._

"_Echizen! You're going the wrong way! Come back to your girlfriend." He winced as he felt someone grip his arm._

_He looked down to see Ann shaking slightly. "Takeshi...would you just shut up already..." she hissed._

_Momoshiro was taken aback. "What's with you, Ann?"_

_She looked up at him, and Momoshiro was shocked to see her eyes shining with angry tears._

"_You don't get it yet, do you? You've don't realize what you've done?!"_

"_Hey! What's with you? Why are you snapping at me like that when I've not done anything wrong?" Momoshiro retorted. He was not a very patient person to begin with, and he severely disliked being yelled at._

_Ann's eyes flashed. "Momoshiro! You big idiot! I'm not speaking to you until you've realized your mistake!" she stormed off._

Momoshiro gave a frustrated sigh and rubbed his head. First Ann-chan was acting all pissed off. It hurt when she had reverted back to calling him by his surname. Now Seigaku's pillar of strength was made out of butter instead of concrete. He dreaded to think of what would be next.

Well, looked like their chances in the competitions were low, now that their captain was behaving like that. He was in an even worse state yesterday, because...

Rewind back 24 hours

"Game and match! Won by, Kaidou! 6 games to 1." Momoshiro announced, scowling.

Echizen remained rooted to the spot. He was snapped out of his daze as Kaidou had suddenly seized the front of his shirt.

"What's the meaning of this, buchou?! You weren't playing seriously at all! Were you trying to insult me?" Kaidou snarled, looking ready to kill off the Seigaku captain.

"Calm down, Kaidou-senpai!" Both Kachiro and Katsuo hurriedly separated the snake shot player and captain by placing themselves in between those two, while both Tsun and Itsuki restrained Kaidou.

"Enough, Mamushi! Get outside the courts!" Momoshiro ordered.

Kaidou threw Ryoma a disgusted look, but obeyed the vice-captain all the same.

Momoshiro turned to the captain, who was looking lifeless. "Echizen. I'm going to punish you for not taking your match seriously. Grounds...20 rounds!"

Without even a protest, Ryoma had gone off to run his rounds, causing alarms to blare within the heads of all the regulars. If Ryoma wasn't complaining, something was very wrong with him indeed.

When Ryoma returned, he sat on the bench, his shoulders bent forwards slightly.

He looked up when Inui held a glass filled with bright blue liquid before his face.

"As mentioned. The loser would have to drink this. Douzo." He said.

Ryoma took the glass wordlessly and drained it in one gulp. He then set it down on the bench and continued brooding.

"Oh my goat! Echizen-buchou has developed an immunity to Inui-senpai's creations!" Horio yelped.

Inui adjusted his glasses. "No. I don't think he had tasted a thing, as he looked like he doesn't even know that he had drank it in the first place."

Kachiro and Katsuo exchanged looks. Echizen's condition was that bad?

Zip back to present time...

Horio, who was Ryoma current opponent, was gloating worse than ever.

"Oh well, with my three years of tennis experience, I knew that the day would come for me to be on par with Echizen-buchou's level." He boasted.

"Ch! I don't even feel like refereeing for this match anymore." Tsun groaned. Echizen's half-dead antics were affecting the whole club, as everyone felt lifeless too.

The only one who didn't seem affected was of course, the ever-optimistic Itsuki Keita.

"He's just having a bad day. It'll pass. He'll be alright tomorrow." He said brightly.

Tsun gave his best pal a bored look. "You said that yesterday, Keita. Nothing has changed even today."

"Don't worry! I have faith in our captain. He'll pull through this. You'll see." Keita said confidently.

Tsun sighed. "Alright then. Game, Horio. 5 games to 4."

Inui did not even bother to write in his notebook. There was no point to take note of useless data. He frowned as once more Echizen caught the ball with his face instead of his racket.

"Hmm...it's a good thing that his body is already so used to tennis that it's moving automatically, even though he's in such a lifeless state, or else he wouldn't have won those 5 matches, being this absent-minded. In just half an hour, he stood still for over 150 times already." Inui muttered to himself.

"I'm worried for our buchou. This isn't like him at all." Kachiro said, looking concerned.

Takahiro looked expressionless, though he suddenly spoke up. "It's been raining for a couple of days already. Especially during the nights." He stated solemnly.

The others blinked at him. "What on earth are you talking about? There was no rain at all for over a week." Arai laughed at the Chessmaster.

Takahiro ignored that statement, as his eyes were focused on the Seigaku captain, who was still standing stupidly in the court even though Tsun had already announced that the captain had won 6 games to 4 ten minutes ago.

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Once more, Ryoma had jolted awake in the middle of the night to find his cheeks wet.

He gave a groan and sat up, causing Karupin to leap off his bed. Wearily, he made his way to the bathroom to wash his face.

After he had splashed water against his face, he looked up at the mirror to see his reflection, and his pale face stared sadly back at him.

He had been in a slump ever since the fight with Tezuka. Ryoma had reverted back to being unfeeling towards everything, and he could no longer take interest in anything, not even tennis.

He went back to bed and stared at his phone.

**You have no new messages**.

With a sigh, he chucked the phone onto the table. Looks like it really was over between Tezuka and him. After that day, there had been no more calls, no more e-mails, nothing.

His cat leapt back onto the bed and gave a meow, as if sensing its owner's distress.

"Karupin..." Ryoma found his beloved pet's presence comforting, even if it could not fully heal the pain inside.

As he stroked his cat, he allowed himself to ponder about all that had happened.

He really was being a terrible example as captain, as he had been too wallowed by his own problems. He was supposed to be Seigaku's pillar of strength. After all, Tezuka had entrusted him with this task...

A jolt of pain hit Ryoma's heart at the thought of the brunette. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop his mind from wandering back to the K-High captain.

His eyes hardened. Well, if it really was over between them, then he'd move on. He had more things to worry about than his personal problems.

"Kunimitsu..." he sighed as he fell back to sleep.

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"Oh? Ryoma-buchou seems to be back to himself again." Kachiro cheered.

Momoshiro gave a bitter smile. 'That's what you think.' He thought. As a close friend of Ryoma's, he had long learnt to read some of Ryoma's actions.

Ryoma seemed to be playing well again, but there was something lacking in the way he played. It was like he had reverted back to when he had first came to Seigaku as a freshman. His tennis had no spirit in it, no passion.

"Mada mada dane." Ryoma walked off as he beat Arai 6 games to 3.

Momoshiro felt guilty. Ryoma had been like this ever since the double date. Had he really made a mistake? Was it wrong of him to think of Echizen's happiness?

"I hope you're satisfied. Everything has gone as you planned, and you've put Echizen and that girl together. Does he look happy to you?" Inui suddenly spoke up.

Momoshiro gave an irritable sigh. "I'm not in the mood to listen to this..."

"Cause your girlfriend had said the same thing?"

Momoshiro scowled. Inui merely adjusted his glasses. "Don't look down on my info gathering skills."

The vice-captain looked at the green-haired sophomore, who was being surrounded by a happy looking Keita and Tsun. Both seemed delighted to see Ryoma more like himself again.

"I don't understand. Echizen has no girlfriend, so a little matchmaking shouldn't matter. After all, if he doesn't like her, he could push her away anytime."

"That's where you're mistaken. Have you forgotten Echizen's character? It's not in his nature to push others away. Would be too troublesome for him."

Inui gave Momoshiro a serious look. "I think it's about time you should know why I said not to match make him. In case you haven't known, there was already someone Echizen-kun was dating."

Momoshiro spun around to face the data tennis player at that.

"Eh??? Who?" he asked.

Inui walked off. "There's no point in me telling, as their relationship is close to being history."

Momoshiro looked guilty. If he had known about this, there was no way he would destroy Echizen's happiness. He gave a sigh and unwrapped a burger. Eating usually helped to ease his guilt.

Not this time, it seems, as he had barely chewed a mouthful when a foul taste hit his tongue, and he flopped over, frothing.

Inui gave an evil smirk. That was payback for ignoring his warnings. The new purple mustard sure was effective...

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"Too slow!" Ryoma finished yet another game.

He hadn't even stopped to take much rest, as he wished to keep himself occupied with tennis. It helped to keep his mind off unnecessary thoughts.

Practice ended too soon for him, and he busied himself with keeping the nets.

"Echizen. Leave that to the first years." Momoshiro suggested.

Ryoma gave him a smile. "I feel like keeping these equipments myself. What are you still doing here? You have your girlfriend waiting for you, don't you?"

There was a twinge of sadness in Ryoma's voice that caused Momoshiro to feel even guiltier. He could see how hard the captain was trying to push his troubles out of his mind for the sake of the club.

"Echizen...gomen! It's all my fault. I should never have tried to put you and that girl together."

Ryoma turned away from him. "I'm not blaming you for it. It doesn't matter anymore anyway." He tried to sound casual.

Momoshiro did a deep bow. "Please punish me, Echizen."

The Seigaku captain turned to face him slightly. He seemed to be thinking about it.

"Well, if you insist...80 rounds." He walked off to the clubroom, looking just the slightest bit more satisfied over his revenge.

Momoshiro's jaw had dropped. "Demon..." he muttered, going to do his punishment. He had better hurry off to apologize to Ann after that.

Echizen closed the door to the clubroom, feeling his mask slip away once he was alone. As captain, he had to put his club members first, but it was difficult trying to act happy when his heart was aching like that.

"Why don't you just make up with him already?" A voice asked, causing Echizen to jump.

He had been so absent-minded that he didn't realize he was not the only one in the clubroom.

Inui had been standing at a corner, his arms folded in a way to show that he was not happy about something. Ryoma hurriedly hardened his mask.

"Inui. What are you still doing here? Everyone has already gone home."

"Don't change the subject, Echizen-kun. Your performance has dropped by 500 percent, and at this rate, your club would be the laughing stock of the inter-school games. Would you want that, buchou?"

Ryoma gave a bitter smile. "Betsuni. It doesn't matter much to me." He muttered.

Inui sighed. He hated it when the prodigy was stubborn.

"Instead of sulking like that, won't you just go speak to Tezuka and explain yourself?"

Ryoma winced at the name, though moments later, his eyes had widened. Why was Inui suddenly mentioning Tezuka?

"Why would I want to go speak to him?" he tried to make the question sound casual.

Inui faked a look of surprise. "Oh? You wouldn't? I thought that he's important to you. Have I made a mistake there?"

"Of course he's important...to all of us. He was our captain, wasn't he?" Inui couldn't possibly know about their relationship, could he?

Inui sighed. With Ryoma, he had to be more direct, for the boy-captain was completely dense at times.

"Ah. He is important to all of us, which is why it pains us to see him being so unhappy. I'm sure you know why is that, Echizen-kun. After all, aren't the both of you dating?"

At that, Ryoma's eyes widened. Inui _did_ know after all. But how...?

"There is a 95 percent chance you're wondering how is it I knew about the both of you. I'm hurt. You really are looking down on my data collecting skills." Inui stated.

Oh well, Inui hit right on the mark, so there was no need for Ryoma to ask that question. Instead, he gave Inui a questioning stare, demanding for an answer.

"Let's say while the others are completely oblivious to the both of you dating, a...couple of us had noticed since last year. I can't blame them for not noticing though. Your actions are really too ambiguous, it was a no wonder Tezuka-kun had felt insecure."

"What?" Ryoma was shocked. Tezuka can actually feel insecure?

Unlike Tezuka, Ryoma wore his thoughts on his face, so Inui could literally see what was going on in the junior high captain's mind. He really was too easy to read. Inui frowned. Did Ryoma really take Tezuka to be a wooden block on two legs?

"Aa. The way you expressed yourself to him was really ambiguous. At times it looked like you might actually like him. At times you seem to take him only as a friend, especially with how you're cancelling all your outings with him without giving a proper explanation. Tezuka really had been very patient already. Had it been me, I'd have killed you on the spot ages ago."

Ryoma was quiet, trying to run what Inui had said through his mind. Now he at least knew why Tezuka had misunderstood.

Inui stared hard at the green-haired captain.

"Echizen. Just how is it that you feel towards Tezuka?" he asked.

"I...my feelings towards him? Of course I... l-l-l-l-..." Ryoma had as much success of spitting the word out as a faulty radio, with him stuttering over that word repeatedly, and his face getting redder.

Inui finally smiled. "Don't bother telling me that. I'm not the person you want to say that to. Instead, go say that to _him_."

Ryoma's face fell. "It's too late for that. It's over between us anyway."

Inui raised an eyebrow. "...well, if you say so. I suppose it really is over between the both of you then, since you're giving up so easily. It seems like I have overestimated you. I never knew you were the type to give up without a fight."

Inui made his way to the door. "I've told you my views regarding you and Tezuka. As for whether you want to salvage your relationship, I will not interfere. It will be all up to you now." With that, Inui left.

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Ryoma gave a sigh as he was now stranded at the bus stop. It had suddenly begun raining heavily, and Ryoma had to wait for it to stop.

He looked up at the dark, gloomy skies, which reflected his feelings perfectly.

Inui had made him realize a lot of things. He really hadn't given Tezuka much of an explanation with what he had been doing, as he had hoped for Tezuka to understand everything.

Ryoma closed his eyes. He had his own nature to blame. If only he was able to push that Joou-inu away properly. If only he was good at expressing himself. If only...

Ryoma's eyes opened, and he gave a snort of disgust. What was he doing here, just standing here doing nothing but indulge in self-hate? Nothing would change if he did not explain his actions. This was not the place he was supposed to be. He had to go talk to Kunimitsu. He didn't want to lose him!

The next moment, Ryoma was dashing towards Tezuka's house, not even feeling the rain beating down on him.

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He couldn't blame Tezuka's mother for giving a yelp of surprise when she opened the door. She looked like she was questioning his sanity for running all the way here in the heavy rain without bringing an umbrella. He must have looked like he had gone swimming in his school uniform.

"May I speak to Kunimitsu please?" he asked.

"Kunimitsu. Your friend is here to see you. You'd better bring him inside." Tezuka's mother called.

"Okay."

Ryoma felt a sense of dread as he heard Tezuka's voice. He was afraid to see the other captain direct hate-filled eyes at him.

Tezuka did not say a thing as he laid his eyes on the prodigy, not a change to his expression. In fact, Ryoma could have sworn that he had seen the other boy frown and shuddered.

"Come in." Tezuka finally said after a while.

The senior high captain led the prodigy to his room. Ryoma had only been here one other time- when he had pleaded for Tezuka to allow him to fight against Kevin Smith in the US-Japan friendly games last year.

Ryoma stood on the spot, feeling awkward. He started when Tezuka threw a towel at him.

"Dry yourself off. You're soaking wet." He said.

Ryoma mumbled his thanks, hurriedly wiping his hair dry.

Tezuka went to sit at his study table, his eyes not leaving the other boy. Ryoma sat on the floor before him.

"Kuni...Buchou. I want to apologize. I'm sorry for not being very clear regarding all my actions this whole week. I'm sorry to cause you to misunderstand. I'm sorry for taking your feelings for granted."

Ryoma's voice shook. He clenched his hands into fists. He would not cry. Even if Tezuka formally calls off their relationship later, he would not cry, for he would have deserved it.

"I've been an idiot, calling off our dates like that. You have every right to be angry at me. I had convinced myself that you would understand, and did not give you any explanations. This past week had been terrible for me, and it made me realize something..."

He grew redder at what he was about to say.

"I like you, Ku...buchou. I really like you. So it really hurts when you're ignoring me like that. I don't want you to hate me."

Even that confession sounded lame to Ryoma's ears. He did not dare to look at the other captain, afraid to see Tezuka giving him a disbelieving look or something.

To his surprise, he felt strong, familiar arms wrapped around him.

"No. The one at fault here was me. I had lashed out at you in a stressed moment, and did not bother to even listen to what you have to say. I'm sorry."

Ryoma blinked. That didn't sound like Tezuka was going to break up with him. Could it mean...

"Buchou?" he asked uncertainly, almost afraid of hoping.

Tezuka had a small frown on his face. "Haven't I said it before..." his frown was replaced by a warm smile. "Call me Kunimitsu."

The Seigaku captain was so overcome with relief that he could no longer hold his emotions back. He broke down, all the pain, sorrow, fear and confusion he had felt this whole week washing out of him.

Tezuka had actually become panicky at that. "I'm so sorry, Ryoma! I've hurt you _that _badly?"he hugged the boy and patted him on the back in an attempt to calm him down.

Ryoma shook his head. "I'm just happy that you don't hate me." He managed to get a grip on his emotions after a while.

Tezuka gave him a rather odd look. "I can't possibly hate you, Ryoma." He leaned closer, and before Ryoma could blink, pressed his lips lightly to his junior's.

As mentioned, Ryoma was not a touchy feely person, so this was new to him. His eyes went wide at the intimate contact, not knowing how to react to this. Gingerly, he returned the kiss as best as he could.

Not too long later, the both of them broke apart. Ryoma found Tezuka giving him a serious stare. "I can't possibly hate you. Because I love you, Ryoma."

Ryoma felt his face go hot at that. L-love?! As Tezuka stroked his cheek, he wasn't too sure if the feeling that had shot through him was happiness or surprise.

Ryoma had felt nothing but apathy all his life, so he couldn't be too sure if the feeling he had towards Tezuka was love too. For now, he just knew he liked the other guy a lot.

Tezuka seemed to have read his mind. The older boy gave a sigh and ruffled his hair. "Don't need to think too much about it. I'm happy to hear that you do like me. In time, you may learn to love me too."

"Gomen. Kunimitsu." Ryoma felt guilty. He needed time to sort out his real feelings towards Tezuka.

"I'm not offended." Tezuka said lightly.

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Ryoma had explained just why he had been cancelling all his dates with Tezuka, while Tezuka in turn had updated Ryoma about the situation in Kanto High.

"Eh? So that's why all of you were so stressed out." Ryoma frowned. Tezuka was definitely having it worse off than him, having to deal with such a school policy and the club at the same time. He felt a sudden surge of respect for his boyfriend for being able to juggle between the two so well.

"Aa. I think the pressure is highest on Atobe though." Tezuka said.

Ryoma's eyes were filled with mild arrogance. "If that headmistress of yours thinks she could close down the tennis clubs with both you and that monkey king leading it, she really is mada mada dane..."

Tezuka smiled. Ryoma's way of cheering people up was rather unique.

Ryoma looked out of the window and his mouth fell open. "Oh crap...it's this late already?"

His dad was so going to kill him. He hadn't realized he had spent this much time at Tezuka's place.

The sky outside was completely dark, and it wasn't helping that it was still raining heavily.

"I don't think you can go back in this rain. Why not stay here for the night? We have a guest room." His boyfriend suggested.

Ryoma seemed to be thinking about it. Before he could give his reply, he sneezed.

Tezuka chuckled. "I suppose even if you want to run home in the rain, I wouldn't let you. You're already close to catching a cold. You'd better go to take a bath. I have some clothes you could borrow. Better inform your parents that you're staying the night here. Also, I don't think you've had your dinner yet. I believe there is still food in the kitchen."

Ryoma blinked. Tezuka sounded so much like Oishi at the moment that it was taking every ounce of self-control he had not to burst out laughing. Besides, how could he laugh when Tezuka was only concerned for him?

"Thank you." He mumbled rather bashfully.

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"Where is that Echizen?" Momoshiro scowled. The Seigaku captain was late, a trait that was last seen back when Ryoma was a freshman.

Inui frowned, hoping that his words of advice to Ryoma did not backfire. It was days before the inter-school games, and Seigaku definitely needed its captain.

"Man...I hope he's not in another slump that would make him skip practice..." Momoshiro had now begun pacing up and down.

"Who's skipping practice?" a rather cocky voice asked.

"Buchou!" a few of the members said at once.

To the others, Ryoma looked just as usual, but to those who really knew him, they could see that Ryoma was in high spirits, with his golden eyes bright and alert. Looked like their captain was finally back.

"Buchou! We were so worried because you're late." The three freshmen (you know which three) said at once.

Ryoma pulled his cap lower. "Aa. I had to help an old woman cross the road."

Momoshiro twitched. This Echizen still sucked at lying...

The three freshmen had not noticed that though, as all three were looking at their captain admiringly. "Oh! Our captain sure is kind."

"But apparently she didn't want to cross the road, so I helped her back to the other side." Ryoma continued on smoothly.

Once more, the three freshmen's eyes went sparkly. "Oh! Our captain is quick to correct his mistakes. So cool!"

"Echizen...I could give you 20 laps you know..." Momoshiro said in a low voice, so that only Ryoma could hear him.

Ryoma merely smirked in reply.

The third year vice-captain sighed. "Ah well, I'll let you off this time. Good to have you back to your old self."

"Aa." Ryoma turned to face all the members, who seemed to have regained their spirits as well.

"Minna. Our target now is the inter-school competitions. Let's do our best, and work our way to the Nationals." He ordered.

"Hai, buchou!"

To be continued...

A/N: I was wondering if I made both Tezuka and Echizen reconcile too fast. Made that confession scene rather unromantic. Ehehe. I suppose Ryoma can't really help it. He's only 13 after all. Some scenes would be more detailed in Life After Seigaku.

This fic is only shonen-ai, but feel free to imagine if there was any yaoi going on when Ryoma stayed over at Tezuka's place. I'm leaving that scene free for your imagination. XD

Would not be able to update so regularly after this. My university term would have started already. I'll try to type as fast as I can.

**Please read and review. Also, no flames please.**

-Gwyn


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. I only own my original characters. (though any of you can kidnap Tina if you want to)**

**Warning: Spoilers for the latest manga chapters. Shonen-ai fic. Contains angst in some chapters.**

**Pairings: Tezuka X Echizen. Momoshiro X Ann.**

**(This chapter is followed by Chapter 10 in Life After Seigaku)**

A/N: Ah well, back to university again. I'm already missing the holidays. Assignments…exams…(groans)

**Old Fiat**, thank you for mentioning about the mistake I made in chapter 6. Have already corrected it and replaced the chapter.

**Thank you all for your reviews**.

To the story then…

**Echizen, Our Buchou**

By: Gwynhafra

Chapter 8

"Whoa! There are so many people here!" Keita exclaimed excitedly the minute he arrived.

His best friend Tsun smiled at that. "Of course. It's the District Preliminaries."

Keita was bouncing on the spot. "I'm so excited! It's our first time coming to a real competition. Right, Haruka-chan?" he asked the sophomore who was already waiting there.

The Chessmaster spared him a side-glance. "I'm used to this already." He said.

"Eh? Oh yeah. You had been joining competitions ever since elementary school, haven't you?" As the optimistic player spoke, he ruffled Takahiro's hair.

"Could you quit that, crazy senpai…?" Takahiro muttered, and the next moment even Momoshiro had playfully ruffled his hair as well.

"It's alright for you to be nervous. Come on now, we can't afford to be late." The vice-captain looked around, ignoring the frown the Chessmaster had thrown at him. Currently, the players already here were Kaidou, Takahiro, Tsun, Itsuki and himself.

He tapped his foot on the ground and crossed his arms. "I don't see our doubles 2 players yet. Also, where is that Echizen?"

"Sumimasen! We're late!" Almost immediately he could hear the two second years call out as both arrived, looking out of breath.

Momoshiro grinned at both of them. "At least you've made it on time."

"We were practicing early this morning and we missed the bus, so we tried to catch up with it and before we knew it, we were here already." Kachiro said sheepishly.

All of the regulars stared at him at that. "So…both you and Katsuo ran all the way here?" Tsun asked finally.

"Yup." Kachiro said, smiling.

Momoshiro burst out laughing at that. "Oi, Mamushi. Looks like you're corrupting the juniors with your crazy training menu."

"Urusai, baka Momoshiro." Kaidou hissed in reply.

For a while all of them did not speak as they waited for their captain. Five minutes passed...and another five...and another five...

"Ne...Momo-chan fukubuchou...we all said to meet by 9.30 am right? Not 9.30 pm?" Katsuo asked uncertainly.

Momoshiro was getting impatient. "We have to register by 10. Why is that Echizen late? Honestly, that captain..."

The other Seigaku members who were here to cheer looked at one another. Horio brightened up.

"I know! Why not let me dress up like Echizen-buchou, just like last year?" he suggested.

Almost immediately all the regulars winced. "I'm afraid you're nowhere near his height now." Momoshiro said.

"Or his looks." Takahiro added a little too honestly, sending Horio into a slump.

"H-Horio-kun..." Both Kachiro and Katsuo tried to cheer their friend up.

At long last, their star player arrived.

"So sorry I'm late. Was campaigning against the extinction of dinosaurs." Ryoma said unabashedly.

Momoshiro was shaking with rage, while the three freshmen (who were there to cheer as well) looked awed.

"Sugoi! Our buchou is helping to save the dinosaurs!" they gushed.

Momoshiro grabbed Ryoma in a chokehold. "What kind of an excuse is that?! Dinosaurs are already extinct! Aren't you supposed to be apologizing for being late?"

"Momo-senpai...can't breathe..." Ryoma complained.

"Calm down, fukubuchou. You're killing our buchou..." Tsun said, trying to pacify him.

Momoshiro released the captain. "50 laps when we get back to Seigaku."

Ryoma flashed him a defiant look. "Yadda."

"Why you...!" Momoshiro wanted to kill the boy, but Ryoma had already begun walking.

"Come on now. We can't afford to be late for the registration." The devil hurriedly changed the subject.

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"Seishun Gakuen, here with the eight regulars." Ryoma told the officer seated at the counter.

"Hai. You're Echizen Ryoma, aren't you? Hope to see your matches this year." The man actually shook Ryoma's hand.

Momoshiro immediately went forward as well. "Ah yes. We'll perform our best this year." He grinned, hoping the man would shake his hand too.

The officer turned his attention to the vice-captain. "Ah...who are you?"

Kaidou was snickering as the vice-captain returned to the group, looking insulted.

"Ah shut up, Mamushi. Why is that Echizen like some kind of celebrity?"

"I'm not surprised, since his face was on the front page of all tennis and sports magazines after the Nationals last year." Tsun pointed out.

Echizen walked towards the boards to see the order of the schools.

"Hmm? Interesting..." he said.

"What? Echizen. Who's our opponent?" Momoshiro asked as all of them joined him.

All eyes followed the line interconnecting Seishun Gakuen and...

Chibi Gakuen

"Now where had I heard that name before...?" Katsuo wondered aloud.

"Oh? You're all looking well." A familiar voice said.

The Seigaku members turned around. "Ryusaki-sensei!" they greeted as one.

Ryusaki smiled. She knew that her club would be fine even without her. Also, she didn't have to worry, as Inui had been giving her feedback these past two months. Still, it was good to see them again.

"Ah. That's right! Chibi Gakuen is the school Ryusaki-sensei is training now." Kachiro remembered.

"It's good to see you again, sensei." Ryoma said.

Ryusaki chuckled. "Ah. You too. The club must have been a handful for you."

"You have no idea. They're all so troublesome. None of them could catch up with my skills yet." Ryoma said arrogantly.

"Hey!" an immediate protest came from all the members, except for Keita, of course.

A group of players in orange uniforms came to stand behind Ryusaki.

"Sensei...these are the Seigaku players you were talking about?" one asked. Considering that he was standing before the other players, Ryoma had a feeling that this was their captain. Also, he had red hair that was similar to Sakuno's, so he was mostly likely that son of Ryusaki's cousin.

"Ah. This is my tennis club, as I've told you before." Ryusaki affirmed.

Sora gave them a nod. "Sora Izumi, captain of Chibi Gakuen. I'm a relative of Ryusaki's." his eyes landed on Takahiro. Ryusaki had mentioned that the Seigaku captain was a very cool, anti social person. With that, he extended his hand towards the Chessmaster, who stared at him blankly.

"You're the Seigaku captain, Echizen Ryoma, aren't you? Sensei has been speaking about you a lot."

Takahiro's expression didn't change much, except that his eyebrows had raised slightly. "Actually..." he pointed to a cap wearing, Ponta drinking boy.

Ryoma looked amused. "Heh...Ryusaki-sensei has been speaking about me a lot huh? Her descriptions about me must have been pretty bad then, if you can't get the Seigaku captain right."

Sora blushed. "Ah well. Look forward to our match later. With our coach, we will not lose."

Ryoma pulled his cap lower. "Hmm? I was hoping to play against your players. Not your coach. How disappointing. Let's go." He told his Seigaku members. The Seishun Gakuen team walked off, leaving down a highly annoyed Sora.

"That guy really is as cocky as Ryusaki-sensei had said..." he growled.

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"Let's go, let's go, Seigaku!" cheers could be heard ringing across the courts as the Seigaku members prepared for their match.

Momoshiro held up a list. "Listen up. The order of players has been decided. For the match against Chibi Gakuen: Katsuo-Kachiro—Doubles 2, Tsun-Itsuki—Doubles 1, Takahiro—Singles 3, Mamushi—Singles 2, and myself—Singles 1."

With that, he folded his list. "Any questions?"

"Anou...what about Echizen-buchou?" Kachiro was the first to ask.

Ryoma took a gulp of his drink. "I've placed myself as a reserve. There is no need for me to play just yet. Besides, I learn better when I watch. I can see who is performing badly and give the information to Inui-senpai. He'd gladly help to mix up a beverage."

Immediately all the players paled, except, of course, the genki Itsuki and Echizen-buchou himself. Katsuo and Kachiro both look close to fainting,

"Don't worry, don't worry. Nobody would be drinking that, ne? Because we won't lose." Itsuki chirped.

"I hope so. I doubt that drink would taste good. I've heard him mention that he might be adding sprouts this round…" Echizen stated, trying to look serious.

Moments later he brightened up. "Well then. I believe it's almost time for your matches. Kachiro, Katsuo. Ganbatte ne." he said evilly.

The doubles 2 pair gulped. "H-Hai, buchou!" they squeaked.

"Oni…" Momoshiro muttered, shaking his head, while the two sophomores headed towards the courts when they were called.

"We will now have the Doubles 2 match. Seishun Gakuen's Kachiro-Katsuo pair versus Chibi Gakuen's Shogi-Ren pair." The referee announced.

On the other side of the net, the Chibi Gakuen players leered at the Seigaku players.

"Hmm? How would the both of you be able to play against us? You're both shaking so badly." One of them sneered.

Both Seigaku players, who were the shortest amongst all the Seigaku regulars, actually towered over the Chibi Gakuen players. Maybe the regulars of the other school were chosen for their (lack of) height?

"One set match. Kato to serve." The referee called out.

Both of Seigaku's doubles players were under a heavy amount of stress, especially with the demonic captain sitting as bench coach, smirking, and the new Inui juice sitting just next to him.

"I'm not going to drink that!" Kachiro used a super fast serve that left the opponents blinking.

"W-What was that? I've never heard of such a skill before…"

"Buchou is so mean!" Katsuo too was playing like a monster.

Meanwhile, Ryoma began to laugh evilly, while his regulars shuddered.

"It's just Kachiro and Katsuo's luck that they play best when they're under high pressure." Tsun commented.

"Aa. I don't think they'll live long though, if this continues on. All that stress must be bad for their heart. Honestly, that Echizen…" Momoshiro muttered.

With the two now inhuman players in the match, it wasn't a wonder that the match ended in just 15 minutes flat, the score 6-0. As the Seigaku supporters cheered, both Kachiro and Katsuo made their way to Ryoma.

"Ne…Ryoma-buchou…our performance was alright, wasn't it?" they asked hopefully.

Ryoma studied the both of them, his golden eyes unblinking.

"Ah well. You've both passed, I guess. I might have to raise the standard during the District levels though." He said.

The two of them cheered and made their way back to the others. On Chibi Gakuen's side, the Shogi-Ren pair had to be nursed for trauma.

"…That move….that 'I'm not going to drink that' move…such a fast serve…I don't want to play anymore…I want to go home…" Shogi was muttering, while Ren looked like he had forgotten how to speak.

Ryusaki shook her head. "You really are serious, aren't you, Ryoma-buchou?"

"Of course." Ryoma replied, smirking.

Even before the referee had announced for the next match, Itsuki had already bounced over to the courts.

"I'm so excited! Ne, ne! Minori! Hurry up!" he said, still bouncing on the spot.

Tsun chuckled. "You sound like we're going on some kind of theme park ride."

"It feels like we're going to a theme park ride! Referee, are we starting yet?" he pouted.

"You'll have to wait for the other team..." the referee had never seen someone so insane, and was looking around hopefully to see if there was anyone to take over his shift.

When it was time for their match, Keita seemed to be running about even more, looking like he would explode with excitement if he didn't do so.

"We will now have the next doubles match. Doubles 1, Tsun-Itsuki pair VS Ryou-Ken pair."

"Finally! Hey you two, let's have a good match!" Keita was now doing some warm ups on the spot.

"Er...okay..." the opponents were already finding it difficult to take the third year seriously.

"One set match. Itsuki to serve."

Keita gave them a wide grin. "Here. I'll pass this to you." He told Ken, firing a shot over.

"Eh?" Ken returned the shot awkwardly, not expecting that.

Keita beamed. "You caught it! Excellent! Your turn next, catch! Ryou-chan!" he sounded like a crazy trainer giving them pointers for tennis.

In just ten minutes, both Ryou and Ken had already lost the mood to play, while Itsuki was still bursting with energy.

"Hore! You two! Play seriously! What kind of a performance is that?!" Ryusaki barked. She was actually torn between wanting to scold her current club for their terrible performance and wanting to praise her actual club for coming up with such a tactic.

Meanwhile, Kachiro and Katsuo looked confused.

"I don't get it. Itsuki-senpai's playing style is pretty ordinary. There is no special skill or whatsoever, so why are the opponents playing like that? Itsuki-senpai is actually quite harmless."

Momoshiro gave a light laugh. "Precisely. It's because he looks harmless that they're finding it difficult to play against him. Keita might not know this himself, but his style of tennis causes a psychological impact on his opponents. With his nature, many of his opponents would lose their concentration as the game drags on, as they can't bring themselves to play against Keita seriously. Also, while Keita serves as a distraction, they would forget that Tsun is there as well."

"Ken! Don't underestimate him! We can't afford to lose this round!" Ryou yelled.

"Ok!" Ken fired a lob over Keita's head.

The optimistic player did not even bother to go after the ball. "I was waiting for that. Gomen, looks like we'll be winning this match." He grinned.

Behind him, Tsun had fired a smash, and both Ken and Ryou could not return it.

"Game and match, won by, Seigaku's Tsun-Itsuki pair, 6 games to 1!" the referee announced.

Both Itsuki and Tsun returned to their cheering teammates, while Ken and Ryou were the next to join the 'traumatized group.'

"He just wouldn't stop chirping..." Ken muttered.

"We're at a disadvantage. Minna, we must make it to the district games." Chibi Gakuen's captain Sora Izumi stood up. He was actually tall, being the odd one out amongst all his teammates.

At Seigaku's side, Takahiro took his racket, looking bored.

Before long, their match had begun.

"What's with your half-hearted shots? You're not awake yet?" Sora was insulted.

Takahiro said nothing, doing yet another ordinary return. His blank face made his emotions unreadable.

Sora frowned. He had no idea what this sophomore was thinking, with his game being dragged on like that. He had pin pointed all the corner of the courts, but Takahiro returned them easily. Takahiro had not made much effort to score any points, it seemed, and was only concentrating on returning all the shots. Then again, he also made sure Sora didn't score either.

As the match went on, with Ryusaki chiding Sora occasionally for his language, the other regulars chuckled. "Looks like Sora is falling into the Chessmaster's trap." Keita commented.

"Aa. His concentration improves drastically as the match goes on. The longer the match, the higher his chances of winning. Maybe we should name this skill of his 'procrastination'" Momoshiro yawned. "Still, I wish he would just hurry up. I don't think Ryusaki's relative is of any threat to him."

"Game, Chibi Gakuen, 5 games 4!" the referee suddenly announced, and Momoshiro stopped halfway in another yawn. "That Chibi captain scored? What happened?"

"Well…" both Kachiro and Katsuo did not know how to answer to that as they turned their attention back to the game.

Sora was smiling at a mildly puzzled Takahiro. The Chessmaster recovered quickly though, as his mind was already coming up with a new strategy.

"I see. You've gotten used to my style of returning, and now you're going offensive, smashing at places I don't move to. Very well. I'll play seriously from now on." Takahiro's eyes narrowed.

To everyone's surprise, and the horror of the Chibi Gakuen players, the referee announced the 7 games to 5 score just 5 minutes later.

"My gosh! The way the guy is scoring…he's using only two moves each time…"

Ryoma smirked. This guy could be scary if he wanted to be. Takahiro had done a normal serve as his first move, but after Sora returned it, he would suddenly use a speedy return that landed _anywhere_ on the court. Sora could not even predict where the ball will land. Also, Takahiro's pose was always the same, making it all the more difficult to guess where the ball would be hit to. Just two hits and he would score once.

As Takahiro went to his captain, Ryoma gave him a glance. "Mada mada dane. That move would not have worked on me. Still, I suppose you would not need an extra boost of Inui Juice either. Please tell Kaidou to get ready." While the sophomore didn't say anything to that, Ryoma could see that even he was relieved that he didn't need to drink that awful juice.

Needless to say, it was a breeze for the Seigaku players after that. Kaidou's opponent had passed out at the sight of his scowling face, while Momoshiro creamed his opponent with his smashes.

"Seigaku has won 5 games, 0 losses. Seigaku advances to the next round." The referee announced.

Ryusaki sighed. Ah well. Chibi Gakuen really has a long way to go at this rate. Still, she congratulated her old team all the same.

"It really is an important experience, fighting against your school. We will improve ourselves. Who knows, next year we might fight against you people again." Sora said, shaking Momoshiro's hand.

"I hope so." Seigaku's vice-captain agreed. Sora then turned to shake Ryoma's hand, but the boy had already walked off.

"Ponta." He said, heading off to the vending machine, leaving behind an increasingly insulted Chibi captain.

"That arrogant brat…" he growled.

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Seigaku had definitely lived up to its name as the Nationals champions of last year. So far, they had not lost any of their matches, and Ryoma's presence alone was enough to kill off the morale of the opponents.

The Seigaku captain still placed himself in the reserve spot for all of the matches. He preferred to watch, playing coach now that Inui wasn't around.

At long last, it was the final day of the district preliminaries.

They were all there by 9.30, except for a golden eyed captain. Again.

"I'm going to make Echizen into a hamburger if he doesn't arrive here within the next few seconds…" Momoshiro growled. Katsuo and Kachiro were trying to pacify him.

Less than a minute later, however, a limousine pulled up near them, and Ryoma stepped out.

"So sorry I'm late. Was modeling." He said with a straight face.

As the three freshmen (who were there to cheer again) gushed at how great their captain was to be modeling, Momoshiro was trying to kill off the unrepentant culprit.

"You're the captain! Shouldn't you be the first one here?" the vice-captain asked.

"Momoshiro!" a stern voice said, and to Momoshiro's surprise, Tezuka had just emerged from the limo as well. His K-High players joined him not too long later.

Momoshiro released the boy. He stared at all of the Kanto High players. "Ah. Here to return the favour?" he asked. Seigaku had gone to watch the senior high's matches before their games started.

"You could say that. We too had to follow our captain's orders." Fuji smiled.

A red carpet was rolled out before the door and Atobe stepped out, his hands still grooming his hair.

A number of people who were present caught sight of him. "Kyaa! It's Atobe-sama!" the crazy fangirls squealed, and the next moment Atobe's bodyguards had to hold back the crowd before the diva and his teammates were smothered.

Ryoma snickered. "It's your fault for being so flashy, Monkey King."

"You're just jealous, brat. By the way, who is your opponent this round?" Atobe asked.

Before anyone could give him a reply, Momoshiro had began waving madly.

"Ann-chan! Over here! Over here!"

Tachibana Ann hurriedly jogged up to him. "Takeshi, so sorry I'm late." She said.

Momoshiro shook his head. "Not at all, we've just arrived as well." (liar…)

Atobe blinked. This girl…was Tachibana's little sister, wasn't she? He remembered trying to tackle (bully) her last year when he went to see street tennis.

Wait…if she was here that would mean…

"Yo. It's been a while, Seishun Gakuen." Kamio Akira greeted.

All of the Fudoumine members were behind him, with Ibu Shinji bouncing a ball on the frame of his racket.

Kamio spotted Momoshiro's arm around Ann-chan's shoulders and growled.

"Get your paws off the captain's sister, you bike-thief!"

"Gah! You're still calling me that after so long?!" Momoshiro snarled back.

Echizen chuckled slightly. This school at least had the most familiar faces, as aside from Tachibana, the rest had been sophomores last year, and so they only had one new member.

He stepped between both Momo and Kamio to stop their fighting. "Ne, you're Fudoumine's captain this year right? Who's the vice-captain?"

Kamio patted Shinji's shoulder. "I'm Fudoumine's vice-captain. What? I know I don't look like a vice-captain, so of course you wouldn't know. You'd probably think I'm lying. How lucky, you're a captain too aren't you, and you're only a sophomore. How is it you're so perfect at everything. Maybe you bribed Tezuka to make you captain. That wouldn't be good. Bribing is against the rules. Then again you would probably have done it. Why is that guy over there having such a blank face, and why is that one over there smiling all the time. How lucky. He must have had a happy life. We all had a rough time before Tachibana came to our school. They on the other hand have such caring senpai's and such responsible captains. I'm jealous…" Aside from the Seigaku players who had played against Fudoumine before, the others were under some shock, for they had never seen someone who was able to mumble so much before.

"Is he alright?" Tsun asked worriedly.

"Shinji." Kamio sighed. Now that Tachibana wasn't around to scold the 'spot' player, it was all up to him now.

They looked up at the clock. "I think it's about time we head off to the counter. After that, you would all be warming up."

"I'll see all of you during the competitions then." Kamio said as he sped off to the counter.

"Whoa! He's fast! Is he the Speed Demon you were all referring to?" Asakawa asked his teammates.

Fuji nodded. "Hai. That's him. I think you're faster than him though."

Shinji was the last of his teammates to leave, and he had started mumbling again. (" I don't want to lose this round. There is no way we can lose. Tachibana will be disappointed and that's bad. The senior high groups are so lucky, their competitions are over. How nice, they can relax after that, I want to relax. What's the point of competing now. Echizen had the Pinnacle of Perfection. There's no point fighting…")

By now, they couldn't hear what Shinji was mumbling about anymore. Keita blinked at the vice-captain of Fudoumine's back. "Ne, Echizen-buchou…that guy is sane right?" he asked uncertainly.

"Who knows." Ryoma said with some truth in his words.

All of them went to the benches. The senior high students were gladly giving the junior high students advice, while Tezuka and Echizen stood side by side, not saying anything, considering they don't speak much anyway.

"Be careful of Uchimura Kyousuke. He's known as the front killer." Oishi was telling the Seigaku players.

"He'd most likely be playing doubles with Mori Tatsunori." Kikumaru chirped in.

"I'm not sure if we're fighting them. So far, we're playing in Doubles 1." Tsun said thoughtfully.

Itsuki bounced over to Ryoma, who was looking at a list. "Echizen-buchou. You haven't told us the order of the players yet."

Ryoma looked up. "Oh? I haven't? Warui. Listen up, all of you. Doubles 2—Tsun-Itsuki, Doubles 1—myself and Takahiro, Singles 3—Kachiro, Singles 2—Momoshiro, Singles 1—Kaidou."

He lowered the list. "Any questions?"

There was at least a few seconds of complete silence, both from the senior high group and the junior high group.

"Anou…Ryoma-buchou…I don't think I've heard correctly. Could you repeat that again?" Kachiro was the first to raise a hand.

Ryoma snorted and read from the list again. "Doubles 2—Tsun-Itsuki, Doubles 1—myself and Takahiro…"

Immediately everyone started speaking again.

"Nani?! Ryoma-buchou had placed himself in Doubles? And with the Chessmaster at that?!"

"Is this really Ochibi? I thought he doesn't play doubles?" Kikumaru looked to Oishi for confirmation.

"Ii data…" a voice behind Kikumaru startled the acrobatic player, who gave a yelp and clung on to Oishi. Inui had arrived too, it seems.

Ryoma lowered his cap. "I don't play doubles, but it seems like we don't really have a choice this round. Doubles 2 would be Uchimura Kyousuke and Mori Tatsunori. Doubles 1 would be Sakurai Masaya and Ishida Tetsu, the Hadoukyuu player. On our side, our two power players are Momo-fukubuchou and Kaidou-senpai, but I don't think they can catch that nasty shot of his. Instead, I'll let them fight against the Singles 1 and 2 players-Kamio and Ibu respectively."

All of them stared at the captain. "Urm…no offense, buchou…but if we power players can't catch that shot…you don't have much of a chance either." Momoshiro said.

Oishi looked worried. "I agree. You might have gotten taller, but you still have too lean a physique…"

To their surprise, Ryoma merely smiled. "I have my ways. Now then, buchou. I need to have a talk with you." He kidnapped Tezuka from the group and left.

The rest blinked. "Where is he going off to?" Momoshiro asked.

"Saa..." Fuji smiled knowingly.

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Ryoma was busy warming up at that moment, with Tezuka being his practice partner.

"Aren't you going to ask me about the arrangements as well?" he asked.

Tezuka smiled slightly, returning a shot. "I can roughly guess what you have in mind. Besides, no point with me asking. Once you've made up your mind, you would become very stubborn."

"What a thing to say." Ryoma frowned, scoring with a swift shot.

Tezuka lowered his racket and stepped out of the courts. "I believe you're done warming up. It wouldn't be good for you to tire yourself. Let's return to where the others are."

"Usu." Ryoma went to keep his racket before picking up his racket case. To his surprise, he felt Kunimitsu suddenly wrap an arm around his waist, pulling him closer. His boyfriend then gave him a light kiss.

Ryoma blushed. "K-Kunimitsu?"

Tezuka held on to him for a moment before letting him go.

"That's for good luck." He said, now grinning.

Ryoma shook his head slightly. "I would need my full concentration on the courts. How am I going to play now that I'm completely distracted? Who would have known that you could act like my dad, that perverted old man?"

"Aa. That's why you like me, no?" Tezuka asked, sounding hopeful.

Ryoma looked at him, amused. He lifted his head and gave his boyfriend a quick kiss in return. "Honestly…"

"As much as this is entertaining, the Seigaku members would like you to return their captain, Tezuka." Someone spoke up suddenly, causing the two to spring apart.

"Atobe..." the Kanto High captain frowned. Ryoma was looking highly uncomfortable, though he still gave the Monkey King a challenging stare.

The diva turned away. "It is not ore-sama's intentions to interrupt your little world, but the competitions are starting soon. Besides, this is a very public place, you know. Someone else might walk in on the both of you, and I don't think many people share the same open-mindedness as ore-sama do. Be awed by my..."

"We get the hint, Monkey King." Ryoma cut him off. There were far too many people knowing about him and Kunimitsu now for him to be comfortable with.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Let's have a good match." Itsuki had seized Uchimura's hand and was giving the front killer a vigorous handshake.

"Hey, hey. Keita…" Tsun hurriedly pulled him away from the opponents.

The game started, and it was obvious that the Fudoumine players had improved, as both Tsun and Itsuki, who had never been to competitions before, were hard pressed.

"Game, Fudoumine, 5 games to 2." The referee announced after some time.

"Don't worry, don't worry! We'll catch up." Keita said cheerily to his mildly worried partner.

"Does this guy never get depressed?" Mori asked disbelievingly. As Keita bounced all over the courts playing recklessly, or at least it looked like he was playing recklessly, before both of the Fudoumine players knew it, they were making many careless mistakes.

"5 games all!" The Seigaku players had finally caught up.

Both Uchimura and Mori were feeling a heavy amount of pressure, both from their mistakes and from a crazy Seigaku player. It wasn't helping that Keita was now starting a chant.

"Let's go, let's go, Seigaku! Come on now, time to make our comeback!" He said high-spiritedly.

Meanwhile, a certain Fudoumine vice-captain had began muttering again,

"He's so noisy. Doesn't he know how to play quietly? I don't like noisy people. They're rude. Noise is a form of pollution. It's not healthy. I want to play with Echizen. Why do I have to play with that Momoshiro. It's not fair. Why isn't the match over yet. I'm getting impatient…"

Uchimura gritted his teeth. "Looks like we have no choice. I'll show them the true skills of the front killer."

Without going to the front, he had aimed a shot at Itsuki's face.

**Bonk!**

"Keita!" Tsun yelled as the ever optimistic player fell to the ground. The poor guy was lying there, looking slightly dazed.

Even the referee got off his seat. "Are you alright?"

To all of their surprise, Itsuki got up again not too long later. "Ahaha! That was a nice shot! You really caught me by surprise there. Don't worry, don't worry. No harm done." He grinned at the two Fudoumine players, who paled at how he was able to remain smiling when there was a goose egg sprouting on his forehead.

"He's not human!" The both of them concluded aloud. The front killer had used that move several times, and despite the growing number of goose eggs on his forehead, Keita refused to be knocked out as he continued playing happily.

Inui, who was bench coach, started scribbling madly on his notebook.

They entered tie-break.

"About time we got serious now. Ne, Minori?" Keita smiled.

"I wonder if the word 'serious' exists in your dictionary, Keita." The defensive player chuckled.

Keita started with a serve that none of them knew he could do…for it flew over to the other side at 195 km/h.

"So…so fast…" Kachiro gasped.

Inui scribbles in his book. "Ah. Aside from his mind tricks, Itsuki-kun is actually a speed player, though he's not as fast as quite a number of people."

When the other side served, Keita countered with a very fast return that left his swing a blur.

"Yarou!" Mori hit a topspin, sending the ball beyond Keita's reach.

Tsun reached the ball easily. "Sorry, but you'd have to do better than that to get past my defense." He hit a drop shot, and both Uchimura and Mori rushed to catch it.

They did manage to hit it, but Keita was at the net in a flash.

"One point for us." He said, hitting a smash.

"Game and match, won by, Seigaku's Tsun-Itsuki pair, 7 games to 6."

"We won! We won!" Keita hugged his doubles' partner, bouncing up and down.

"Aa. We won." Both of them returned to the others.

Ryoma picked up his racket. "Takahiro. Let's go." He headed to the courts.

There was a gasp from the audience. "Look! Isn't that Echizen Ryoma? The one who reached the Pinnacle of Perfection in his first year?"

"He placed himself in Doubles 1?"

"Echizen! Echizen! Echizen!" a crowd of people began chanting.

Ryoma gave the audience a bored gaze. Ah well, he'd get this over with quickly.

On the other side, Sakurai and Ishida were getting ready.

"That Echizen…why is he in Doubles? Just our luck." Sakurai was saying.

Ishida grinned. "I would not say so. I don't think he could stand a chance against us."

Surely enough, while Ryoma kept his service game, he looked like he was in trouble every time Ishida used his Hadoukyuu.

The Seigaku players groaned from the stands. "What was that Echizen thinking anyway?" he asked as Ryoma's racket was knocked out of his hands again.

Seigaku was still in the lead though, 3 games to 1. Ryoma's face was passive, so they could not guess what he was thinking.

"Interesting. The Hadoukyuu is a skill that uses 120 percent of the player's strength, but Ishida's Hadoukyuu uses 150 percent of his strength. It's more powerful now. There is a 100 percent chance that Echizen would not be able to return the shot." Inui was calculating.

Tezuka was more worried about the possibility of Ryoma getting hurt than of Ryoma losing. Still, he had faith that the boy knew what he was doing.

"3 games to 2!" Ishida had caught up again with his Hadoukyuu.

"I have no idea what you might be thinking, but there's no way you can win even if you have the Ten'i Muhou no Kiwami." Ishida smirked.

To his surprise, Ryoma actually smiled at that. "Heh…is that so?" he walked off, passing Takahiro.

"Have you come up with a strategy yet?" he asked softly as he passed.

Takahiro gave the smallest nod in confirmation.

"I'll let you handle all the shots, but when he uses the Hadoukyuu, don't get in my way…" With that, Ryoma passed him, getting ready as the Chessmaster served.

The Chessmaster hardly gave Ishida the chance to catch the shots, as he concentrated all of his returns to Sakurai. His 'two-hit KO' move sent the two players running all over the courts as they could not predict where the ball would land.

"Yarou!" Finally, Ishida managed to catch up with one of the shots and did the Hadoukyuu.

Takahiro dodged out of the way. "You were waiting for this, weren't you, buchou?"

Ryoma actually stood in the path of the Hadoukyuu. He used his one-foot split step to propel himself backwards, catching the shot and reducing its power. The next moment, the ball was returned so fast that both Ishida and Sakurai were not able to see it until it had hit the ground.

"What's wrong? Your power seemed to have gone down. I've played against someone far stronger than this." He smirked at the two players.

"Game and match, won by, Seigaku's Echizen-Takahiro pair, 6 games to 2."

"Inui-senpai…that move…wasn't that Sanada's move-Swift Like the Wind?" Momoshiro asked.

Ryoma returned to the others. He mumbled his thanks as Tezuka handed him a towel. "Nope. The real Swift Like the Wind is 10 times faster than this. I would call this move Swift, that's all. But I did get the idea of using that same move against a power player from the battle against Sanada. I suppose I have to thank him for showing me that move of his."

Kachiro picked up his racket with his still shaking hands (he was overexcited as he watched the captain and chessmaster's match). "Everyone had been amazing. I will not let all of you down." He said, his face determined as he walked towards the courts.

For Fudoumine's side, Singles 3 was played by a shy, timid looking boy. He was the only new member amongst all of the regulars, filling in the spot for Tachibana.

"Konnichiwa…" he said timidly as he faced Kachiro.

Kachiro, who was also shy by nature, greeted him back. "Let-let's do our best." He said, getting embarrassed as everyone's eyes were on him.

Singles 3 turned out to be the most polite match they had ever seen, as Kachiro and the new player Koan began playing. Koan might be timid, but he did not let his guard down as he was careful to make sure that Kachiro wasn't able to score easily. Kachiro did the same, as he aimed simple yet accurate shots.

Koan fell when he tried to catch one of the drop shots, and Kachiro was at the net immediately. "Are you alright?"

The next moment, however, the ball had landed behind the Seigaku player.

"Oh? He fell for it." Momoshiro chuckled.

"Fshh…that baka…" Kaidou hissed.

"Kachiro is a soft-hearted person, and he's easily concerned for others. With someone as innocent and helpless looking as his opponent, I'm not surprised that he had let his guard down. Looks like Kachiro might have some trouble. The opponent is a volley player." Echizen said thoughtfully.

"Aa." Tezuka agreed.

Koan got back to his feet. "I'm alright. Looks like I managed to hit the ball." He gave Kachiro a sheepish grin.

Kachiro looked relieved. "That's good." He said.

The match went on, and surely enough, Koan was beginning to give Kachiro a hard time, as he was quick and flexible, catching up and returning even the most impossible shots to Kachiro.

Ryoma got impatient as Koan gave Kachiro another sheepish grin. "Ah. Looks like I managed to hit that one as well." He said. Kachiro looked like he didn't really want to play too seriously against the innocent looking volley player.

"Inui…" Echizen finally said.

The data master held up a pitcher of purple liquid, and the smell seemed to have wafted over to the courts. (Shows how strong the odour was). Kachiro smelt it and caught sight of the pitcher.

"EEEEK!" he threw his gentle style of playing to the winds as he switched to offensive, and when the volley player tried to return the shots, it nearly broke his wrists.

"Game and match, won by, Seigaku's Kato, 6 games to 4."

"You did it!" Immediately all of the Seigaku members swarmed up to Kachiro.

They had won all three matches against Fudoumine. Seigaku had advanced to the District games.

"How could we lose? Seigaku must have been cheating. There was no way we could lose. I wanted to play against Momoshiro. He would not win against me. How would we explain to Tachibana-san about this? His sister would definitely be happy, I'm sure…"

Kamio patted his friend on the back to stop him from mumbling. "Ah well. Looks like the both of us did not have a chance to play at all. Such a pity. Yo, bike-thief! We'll see you next time then. Rest assured that we would not go so easy on you."

"I'm not a bike-thief!" Momo snapped. Both he and Kaidou were disappointed at not being able to play.

As the Fudoumine players went off, Ryoma approached his two seniors.

"What are you two doing sitting down there? If you're really not satisfied about this, reserve that energy for the coming competitions."

Seeing that the both of them were still looking down, Ryoma pretended to walk away.

"Oh well. I was thinking of giving the whole team a treat since we won, but if the both of you would rather sit there…"

"Don't go back on your words then, Echizen-buchou!" Momoshiro was up in a flash.

Kaidou, seeing that Momo had already stood up, got up as well, as he did not wish to be outdone. "Fsshh…"

"Let's go then." The Seigaku members went off as their supporters renewed their cheers.

"Seigaku! Fight-o!"

To be continued…

A/N: Please excuse me for a while. Half dead before the computer. Typing both of these fics at the same time is quite taxing…Bleh…

So sorry that it took me so long to update. Was typing as fast as I could.

Also, I apologize about the matches being so rushed. Would only concentrate on the last opponents for every competition, or I would only write about the matches against some of the more powerful opponents, and would put less emphasis on the others. Otherwise there really would be too many pages…

I actually read the manga again before I typed this chapter. Wanted to see how the inter-school games were like again. I'm not really sure why, but in their first match, they actually went and played all 5 rounds. As far as I know, as long as a school wins 3 out of 5 rounds, they win the match, so I'm not sure why the first match was like that.

Hope someone could explain about this?

So lazy to think up of names. You'd have to excuse me for the lame sounding names. (Both for players and for schools)

Alright then. Going to take a short break after this to clear my mind. Please **read and review**. **No flames please**. (exhausted…)

-Gwyn


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. If I do, I would have kidnapped all the bishonens already.**

**Warning: Contain spoilers for latest manga chapters. Shonen-ai fic. Contain angst in some chapters.**

**Pairings: Tezuka X Echizen, Momoshiro X Ann**

**(This chapter is followed by Chapter 11 in Life After Seigaku)**

A/N: Most likely would put up the chapters for the District games soon, along with the **angst** chapters.

**Jeri79**, **Liek Traum**. Thanks for mentioning about the competitions. Would bear that in mind. (P.S. **Liek Traum**, saw your PM. Would bear that additional info in mind.)

**To all who had reviewed, thank you.**

To the story then…

**Echizen, Our Buchou**

By: Gwynhafra

Chapter 9

Ryoma looked on as his club members practiced, with Momoshiro on his right and Inui on his left.

It had been one week since the competitions, and now that Seigaku would be going to the District games next, Inui had made sure to revise his training menu, making all practices tougher.

"Echizen-kun. I think it's a good time to do _that_ practice." Inui suddenly spoke up.

Momoshiro blinked at him. "_That_? What's _that_?"

Ryoma on the other hand understood. "Very well. I'll get the regulars to line up." He said as he made his way to the members. Inui walked off in the directions of the clubroom, while Momoshiro jogged to keep up with Ryoma's rapid pace.

"Care to explain?" the vice-captain asked.

"We've done this practice before, Momo-senpai. Don't worry. I believe Inui-senpai would refresh your memory in a while."

Echizen raised his voice. "All regulars, assemble in Court A! Second years and third years, resume practice in Courts B and C. First years, resume practice in Courts D."

Everyone halted practice and hurriedly jogged off to the other courts, leaving only the regulars remaining in this court.

"What is it, Echizen-buchou?" Tsun asked.

Ryoma pulled down his cap a little. "Inui-senpai has a little practice session for you. Good luck."

"G-Good luck…?" Katsuo did not like the sound of that.

Inui came in with a whole box filled with tennis balls. He was also carrying some weights.

"Alright then, all of you regulars are to put on these power wrist weights and power ankle weights. Each of you would be putting on the 5KG weights. Echizen, Momoshiro, Kaidou. I believe the three of you are already wearing them, so you would be putting on the 10KG weights instead."

"Eh? They're wearing them?" Kachiro looked surprised.

Echizen took off the power wrist and ankles he was wearing, as did the other two. Momoshiro had finally understood what kind of training it was, and he paled.

Inui then proceeded to put six cones on the ground. Three in the first court. Three in the second.

"Listen up. This training would test your accuracy and your reflexes. I would hit balls with different coloured stripes to you, and you would hit the ball to the cone with the same colour."

Momoshiro and Kaidou paled. Ah. It really was this practice after all. Bad memories began gushing back in their minds.

The rest (except Takahiro, who wasn't in the tennis club last year) had seen the former regulars do this practice before and roughly knew what it was like. Kachiro and Katsuo looked close to fainting. Tsun gulped, while Keita was unaffected.

"Anyone who does not hit the correct coloured cone would be treated to Inui's Special Milkshake." He held up a harmless looking, orange-coloured drink and several of them gave a sigh of relief. It looked like orange juice. Three seconds later, however, the colour of the drink changed to green. Another few seconds later, it changed to purple…

"Fssshhhh!!!!!!" Kaidou was so startled he let his breath out in a sharp hiss. Even Ryoma had backed off, while Keita's smile twitched.

"That doesn't look healthy at all…" Tsun stated the obvious.

Inui raised his eyebrows. "Oh? I assure you that it's very healthy."

"Let's get this over with quick then." Momoshiro decided to step up bravely as the first.

Inui raised a hand to stop him. "Before I forget. As you have noticed, there are six cones here. Echizen-kun would be helping me out for this. Draw these lots. The ones who have red would be training under me. The ones who have blue would be training under Echizen."

Everyone exchanged looks, while Ryoma was trying not to look too gleeful at being able escape the penalty. They really had no idea who would be worst, playing under Inui or Ryoma.

"Red…red…red…gah! I got blue!" Momoshiro groaned. Next to him, Kaidou had picked red.

"Oi! Mamushi! I'd give you one of the new pairs of sneakers I had bought if you'd exchanged that red string of yours for mine."

"Don't hope, Momoshiro. Fsshhh!" Kaidou had both hands hiding his prize protectively.

In the end, the one in the red team were Kaidou, Katsuo and Itsuki, while the ones in the blue team were Momoshiro, Tsun, Takahiro and Kachiro.

"I'm going to serve now." Inui warned as Kaidou got into position. He served the ball.

"Fssshhh…red!" using a snake shot, Kaidou hit the red cone.

(A/N: Those things are called cones right?)

"Blue! Yellow!" Kaidou looked like he was doing alright.

"He's good!" Katsuo said admiringly.

On the blue team's side, Momoshiro was doing alright.

"I would not lose to Mamushi! Red!" he hit the cone so hard that it bowled over.

Ryoma went and set it back up. "Momo-senpai. You don't need to use that much strength. It would reduce your accuracy if you do so."

"Yellow!" he blew a hole through the next cone.

Ryoma frowned. "Inui-senpai. I'm going to change this cone for a while."

"Hai." Inui said, still serving the tennis balls to Kaidou.

"We're saved!" Kachiro said gleefully as the captain went to the clubhouse.

"Kaidou-kun. You've passed. Next, Mizuno! By the way, Momoshiro-kun. If you damage another cone again, you would have to take the jumbo-mug version of the milkshake." Inui stated casually. He served the coloured balls to Katsuo.

"Yellow! Yellow! Red! Blue!" The sophomore, who was under 'stress mode', was pinpointing all the shots accurately.

"Oh? Not bad for a first time user of the power wrists and ankles. Mizuno-kun. Aren't you starting to feel tired?" Inui grinned evilly.

"Not at all! Red! Yellow! Blue!"

"Nope. Not blue. Red." Inui corrected.

Surely enough, it was a red ball Katsuo had hit to a blue cone.

Katsuo gave a yell of horror as Inui held a cup of 'milkshake' before his eyes. "Douzo."

Ryoma returned just in time to see Katsuo charge past him, heading off to the washroom and screaming bloody murder.

He blinked. "What have a missed?" he asked those who were under him, and all of them were too freaked out to answer the question.

Momoshiro was careful not to puncture a hole into any of the cones after that.

"Blue! Red! Red! Blue! Yellow!" he managed to hit all the shots.

"Oh? Quite good, Momo-senpai. Oh! Tachibana's little sister! What are you doing here?" Ryoma suddenly raised his voice, looking out of the courts.

"Huh!" the ball missed the cone as Momoshiro turned to look as well, only to find that spot empty.

Ryoma smirked. "Your concentration is not good enough. Next! Kachiro!"

"Echizen, you demon!" Momoshiro scowled, and he gulped at seeing Inui coming forward with the milkshake. "This one is especially for the vice-captain or captain who loses." He said, his glasses glinting as he held up a huge glass.

Momoshiro soon ran off to join Katsuo.

Before long, Kachiro went to join them, followed on by Tsun. Itsuki drank the juice and had just fainted on the spot with a wide grin on his face, so he did not join them at the washroom.

In the second round, it was now between Kaidou and Takahiro, who had survived the first round.

"Echizen-kun. Increase the power of your shots by 50 percent, so that the serves are faster." Inui mentioned.

Ryoma adjusted his cap. "Whatever." He served to Takahiro while Inui dealt with Kaidou."

"Yellow-Blue-Red-Blue…" their returns were now so fast that the first shot had barely hit the cones when they had to deal with the next shot already. The ever observant Chessmaster was breezing through this, while Kaidou looked like he was having some difficulties.

"Even with your stamina, Kaidou-kun. I'm sure you're beginning to feel the weight of the power wrists and ankles by now." Inui stated.

"You've got to be kidding!" Kaidou hit yet another snake.

Somehow, his accuracy had dropped as his arms were tired, and he ended up hitting a yellow cone instead of a red one.

"Fsshhh…" Kaidou downed the milkshake in one gulp and tried to act cool, though he only managed to keep that scary mask on for a while before he ran off to join Momoshiro and the others as well.

As for Takahiro…well…his eyesight was perfect, as he could get all the colours correctly. But his swings were just not fast enough once he got tired.

"Red…" he missed the ball.

As the Chessmaster ran off after enjoying the terrible beverage, Ryoma yawned. "Mada mada dane." He said, walking off.

"All of you. Return to the courts now." The captain ordered.

The regulars/zombies dragged themselves back. Tsun went to wake the unconscious Itsuki.

"Alright. I've analyzed all of your data already. Momoshiro, you need to improve your concentration. (Here Momo gives the bratty captain a death glare). Tsun, your front dash is weak. Itsuki, you don't have enough stamina. Kato, your shots are too weak. Mizuno, you need more confidence in your shots and your left dash is not good enough. Kaidou, you need to improve your arm strength. Takahiro, you need to improve your reflexes."

He closed his book. "That is all." He went to take all six of the cones and placed them in a semi-circle.

"Another round?" All of the regulars groaned.

"It would be good training for all of you eh? Inui-senpai. Are you making them do another round of practice?" Ryoma asked evilly.

Inui's glasses glinted. "Momoshiro. Kaidou. Come forward."

Both of the rivals walked over sluggishly.

"The two of you would be serving the balls." Inui announced.

"Eh?" they were surprised at that. What now?

"Echizen-kun. I believe you haven't had your practice yet. Did you think that you could escape? Step forward." Inui gave an evil chuckle.

Both Momoshiro and Kaidou's eyes glinted at the mildly pale captain. Payback time…

"Listen up. Echizen-kun. You would be wielding two rackets. The serves from Momoshiro-kun are to be returned by your right hand, and you have to hit the coloured cones on the left. The serves from Kaidou-kun are to be returned by your left hand, and you have to hit the coloured cones on the right. Got that?"

"Ganbatte ne, Echizen-buchou." Both Momoshiro and Kaidou smirked.

Inui pulled out another two power wrists. "Also. You would be wearing another 5KG for each hand."

"Oni…" Echizen muttered, pulling out another racket from his case.

Both Momoshiro and Kaidou made sure they did a high speed serve, and they also made sure that they served around the same time. They made it even more difficult for Ryoma by taking different coloured balls every time, sending the poor captain waltzing to return the shots.

Ryoma did not even bother to say the colours out loud as there was no time for that. He was keeping all his concentration on his returns.

10 minutes passed. Another 10 minutes…

"Come on now, buchou. You know you want to drink that." Momoshiro said. Inui was holding the captain's special beverage just behind Momoshiro and Kaidou, so that Ryoma could see it. By the size of the glass, it looked enough to feed all the regulars.

"Yadda!" his returns were getting sharper and faster.

Another ten minutes passed, and while all of the regulars were eager to see their captain fail, they could not help but be impressed by how he was able to return all of those shots.

"So this is the level of those who have reached the strongest state of self-actualization…" Katsuo said admiringly.

"I don't think he would lose any of the matches he played in at this rate." Kachiro said.

"Gah! This really is taking such a long time!" Momoshiro was getting impatient. By accident, his next serve hit the ball that Kaidou had just served, and both balls pelted at Inui, who was trying to walk back to Ryoma's side. The data master ended up with the captain's share of the drink spilt all over himself.

Inui's glasses seemed to have taken on a red tint as he chased both the snake-shot player and dunk smash player all over the courts, trying to punish them with his latest Inui's special indigestible sponge cake.

"I'm saved…" Ryoma collapsed on the courts, just lying there trying to catch his breath.

After some time, when everyone was assembled in the courts once more, (With the exceptions of the vice-captain and snake shot player. Those two were having their last rites, with Inui as the undertaker) Ryoma spoke up.

"Our next aim is the District tournaments. Be sure to be on time for the next practice. You're all dismissed. First years. Take all the equipments back to the clubroom."

He resisted the urge to stretch. Yet another practice session well done. He couldn't wait to give the report to Tezuka.

"Yo. Ryoma-kun!" he heard someone yell.

Turning slightly, he could see the reporter and photographer for the Monthly Tennis magazine- Inoue Mamoru and Shiba Saori.

"Oh? Here to interview the players?" he asked, walking up to them.

"Of course! If you'd let us, buchou." She grinned, holding up her camera.

"Betsuni. Practice is over anyway." He said, giving his permission.

Shiba hurried off to take pictures, while Inoue remained to speak with the offspring of his idol.

"Echizen-kun. You've done a great job in defending your team's position. I look forward to seeing Seigaku in the Nationals again."

"Sankyuu." Ryoma said.

They did not speak for a while, as they watched Shiba speak to the Chessmaster.

"By the way, I must say I'm impressed by the senior high group's performance this year. I never thought I'd see an unseeded school become the champions of the competitions this round, especially since that school ended up dead last on the list for the past three years in a row."

'Of course. My dear Kunimitsu's the captain after all.' Ryoma thought.

Though he said nothing as he allowed Inoue to continue. "Kanto High has really surprised us this year, with so many powerful players there. Though their school system was really disturbing…"

"Eh?" Ryoma blinked up at the other man.

"Their headmaster had been implementing an exam-based system. That at least explained why the players' previous performances had been so terrible. By your reaction, I don't think you've seen the papers today?" the reporter handed over the papers to Ryoma, who took it and scanned through it quickly.

Apparently Kanto High's policy was now under question. Ryoma briefly read an article about the headmaster abusing his power and frowned. So far, from what he had heard from Kunimitsu, it was the assistant headmistress who was implementing all those nonsensical rules, wasn't it?

Inoue noticed how the younger boy was studying the papers gravely. "Well. You can have that one if you want to. I have an extra copy at home." He said as he had to hurry off, for Shiba was calling for him to interview the Chessmaster.

"That looks troublesome…" Someone spoke up behind Ryoma suddenly. While Ryoma was startled, he didn't jump, as he was already used to Inui doing that.

"Inui-senpai." He acknowledged the other person's presence.

Inui's expression was unreadable. "May I have that?" he asked, pointing to the papers.

"Here." Ryoma handed them over to Inui. Like Inoue, he too had a copy of it at home. Just that he doesn't read the papers. Only his parents do.

Inui browsed through the papers while Ryoma went to check on how the first years were doing. After making sure that all the tennis balls and equipment were back in the clubhouse, he went back to where the data master was.

"I'll be going off now. See you tomorrow." He said.

"Aa." Inui nodded, knowing that Ryoma would pass on the word to Tezuka once he got home.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

There was a different kind of atmosphere at home. Ryoma could feel it. After all, he lives here.

Firstly, his father came to greet him at the gate. Something that the Samurai had never done before in Ryoma's whole life.

"Seishonen. How about a game of tennis?" he asked.

"Yadda." Ryoma answered bluntly. Calling Kunimitsu was more important than tennis.

To his surprise, his father blocked his way, not letting him pass.

"I would insist this time. I have some matters to discuss with you." There was something different about that usually perverted grin on his father's face.

Ryoma frowned. While his father frequently challenged him to a game of tennis, even more so after he had achieved the Pinnacle of Perfection, he had never _insisted_ on playing before. It had always been Ryoma's free choice, so why was today different?

Oh well. He was curious as to what his father might want to talk about anyway. "Fine then." Ryoma set his bag down and took his racket out of its case before following his father to the court.

They had yet another of their matches as they played against each other. Neither of them was really competing, as they were just playing for fun.

"Seishonen. Any idea what is it that I wanted to talk to you about?" Nanjirou began.

Ryoma returned a shot and snorted. "Most likely you're going to ask me if I finally had a girlfriend today. You're always asking me that. Or maybe you're going to ask if I had fought against any powerful opponents recently."

Nanjirou gave a short laugh. "No. Nothing of that sort. I was just troubled recently by the increase of bills these few months. The _Phone_ Bill especially."

Ryoma fumbled slightly with the next shot, but managed to return it all the same to a now smirking Nanjirou.

"So far, in this household, your mother was the one who always makes the most calls, while you talk the least. However, I found this month's phone bill rather strange, as there were 159 calls made. Out of that amount, 145 were made to the same number, and after calling up the phone company, I found out that was the number of the Tezuka household."

Ryoma missed the return as his heart pounded. He was in such big trouble this round.

"Care to explain that?" his father finally asked.

"Just calling for pointers...and also to ask about the welfare of all my senpais." Ryoma gave a lame excuse, with his shots and returns getting worse by the second.

Nanjirou smirked. His Ryoma was terrible at expressing himself, and did not like to speak much. The only way to really get the truth out of Ryoma was by _tennis_, a language Nanjirou spoke fluently. Already, Ryoma's actions were speaking volumes.

"I see. Never knew that you were such a caring person, Seishonen. Then why not call up those senpais yourself? Why only call a single person? You're acting as if you _like_ this Tezuka...oh...is it that captain of yours who made that long distance call during the holidays?"

Now Ryoma really could not concentrate on the game as he made one too many careless mistakes.

Nanjirou stopped the game. "I thought so." His face was unsmiling.

Never in his life had Ryoma felt so cornered. He could see his mother coming out of the house with some grilled salmon.

"Dear. Are you done with this 'interrogation' of yours?" Rinko asked.

"Aa. Ryoma has given a full confession." Both of them pinned their gaze on their speechless son.

"Seishonen..." his father walked over, and while Ryoma's golden eyes were still giving the samurai a steady stare, he was actually wondering if his father was going to hit him.

Nanjirou raised a hand, palms out...

Ryoma tensed.

The next moment, his father had given him a pat on the shoulder. "Seishonen! Looks like spring has finally arrived for you."

Eh?

His mother chuckled. "Honestly, Ryoma. If you're already seeing someone then you should tell us. What's there to be so secretive about it?"

Ryoma's jaw hung open. He closed his mouth and opened it again several times, looking very much like a guppy, as he was currently under shock.

"Wh-wh-wha...?" Ryoma could not get coherent words out of his mouth.

Nanjirou was chewing on a piece of grilled salmon. "It's obvious that there is something going on between you and that Tezuka boy. I had been listening to your conversations several times."

Ryoma blushed. His father was eavesdropping?!

"While it pains me that you don't like huge-breasted women like I do, I suppose it's alright that your boyfriend is at least a nice person and...itai, itai, itai..." Rinko was pulling Nanjirou's ear.

"What did you mean by big-breasted women, dear?" her smile was dangerous.

"I didn't mean anything by that, Rinko-darling. You're the only one for me." Nanjirou was trying to pacify his wife. He would like to have both his ears intact.

Meanwhile, Ryoma had finally found his voice back.

"You two...actually don't mind me going gay?" he asked disbelievingly. He had been afraid of them finding out about Tezuka and his relationship, but now that they did, he couldn't help wondering if they were really his parents. Maybe aliens took over their bodies?

"We're more open-minded than you think, Ryoma. After all, we were from America." Rinko said gently.

Ryoma wanted to slap himself. So he had been worried for nothing…

Both Rinko and Nanjirou had been wondering about Ryoma's preference for several years, since he seemed to be uninterested in either gender. While they would have preferred it if Ryoma had gotten himself a girlfriend, they at least were happy that Ryoma had someone he liked, even if that someone was a boy.

Meanwhile, Ryoma was looking relieved. So his parents were supportive over his and Tezuka's relationship. That was definitely something he had to tell Kunimitsu later.

"However, I am not happy about the phone bill. The both of you have been chatting late into the night, how would you have enough sleep then?"

(A/N: Does that explain why Ryoma always went to school late? XD)

"You're not allowed to use the phone for this whole week. Even when you're allowed to use the phone again, you're to make less than 30 calls a month. Do I make myself clear, seishonen?"

"Usu." Ryoma replied. 'Gomen, Kunimitsu.' He thought sadly.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was the end of March, and Inui felt like strangling someone.

For a certain nosy vice-captain was pestering him with the same questions again.

"Ne. Inui-senpai. Just who is it that Echizen-buchou is seeing? I've never seen him around with any girls before? Is his girlfriend from this school?"

"Please don't ask that question anymore, Momoshiro-kun." Inui tried to avoid the other boy. He had tried everything, ranging from his latest juices to blackmail and death threats, nothing worked, as Momoshiro's curiosity overlapped everything else.

"I promise I would not tell a soul, Inui-senpai." Momoshiro begged.

Inui sped up, trying to shake the persistent vice-captain off.

"Oh, I know! He's dating Ryusaki-sensei's granddaughter, isn't he?" Momoshiro grinned as he saw Ryoma talking to Sakuno outside the fence.

Inui suddenly stopped and spun around so fast that Momoshiro collided into him.

"Very well then. If you'd like to know so much, meet me at the school gates after practice." With that he left.

He didn't really want to tell Momoshiro, actually. From the data he had collected, he knew that Momoshiro was homophobic. Still, if Momoshiro was going to ask him that question one more time, his brain would explode.

Besides, he dreaded to think about what would happen if Momoshiro started matchmaking again.

After Practice

Momoshiro was waiting at the gates, wondering if Inui would really tell him about Echizen's date.

Not too long later, the data master came to meet him.

"Follow me." He said before walked out of the school gates. Momoshiro jogged to keep up.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" Momoshiro asked.

Inui cocked an eyebrow at him. "If I said it, you would not believe me. I'm _showing_ you the answer to your question. You'll find out sooner or later anyway?"

Momoshiro looked thoughtful. "If you're putting it that way, she must be very beautiful. Ehehe. But maybe not as much as my Ann-chan."

"You'll be highly surprised..." Inui replied. Momoshiro thought he had a bit of sarcasm in his tone.

Just then, they spotted Echizen himself, and Inui hid behind a corner. "What's wrong?" Momoshiro asked, but the data tennis player held up one of his exploding cupcakes, shutting Momo up immediately.

Echizen walked off towards one of those parks that people rarely frequented to, as it was poorly maintained, and the hedges were growing wild.

"Inui-senpai...are you sure you're answering my question? This looks like a very scary place for a date, although it does give a lot of privacy..."

"I'm beginning to change my mind. Do you want to come along or not?" Inui asked, getting annoyed.

"Hai. I'll be quiet now." Momoshiro allowed Inui to lead the way.

When they caught up with Seigaku's captain, they found him at the park's tennis court, and he was speaking to Tezuka.

"Oh! A double date?" Momoshiro chuckled. He wondered if Tezuka had a girlfriend.

To his disappointment, they merely began playing a match.

"Ceh. Ah well, let's go and join them." Momoshiro wanted to step out from behind the hedges, where he and Inui had been hiding, but a vice grip on his shoulder held him on the spot.

"Do not interrupt, or we're leaving." Inui warned.

Momoshiro frowned. Just what was the senior high student waiting for? He decided to remain watching the two then.

"Oh! Momoshiro! Inui! What are you two doing here?" someone glomped Momoshiro from behind.

Momoshiro looked surprised. "Eiji-senpai..."

The other Kanto High regulars, minus Atobe, were all here as well.

"Inui! What are you doing here? And with him?" Fuji's eyes were open. Not a good sign.

"I was about to ask you the same question. What are all of them doing here?" Inui didn't look too happy either.

"All of us were just passing by…" Fuji explained before walking off with Inui, so that Momoshiro could not hear what they were saying.

"Ne. That Inui said that he would show me Echizen's date, but so far all I'm seeing is him playing against Tezuka-buchou." Momoshiro said.

"Ochibi has a date? Here?" Eiji was practically bouncing.

"Let's leave." Oishi suddenly said.

"Why? Can't we join the both of them? Ne, Oishi." Kikumaru asked hopefully.

"If you want to stay, just sit still and watch. If there are any interruptions, I would make sure that you would not be able to eat another morsel of food in your entire life." Inui said, breathing down Momoshiro's neck. The dunk smash player had lost 10 years of his life from fright.

"I still don't like this..." Fuji said, though Momoshiro had no idea what he was talking about.

As all of them watched the game, they couldn't help being fascinated. They had never seen either Tezuka or Echizen play like this before. Their shots were simple yet precise, and their moves were coordinated. Never had they seen a match so..._beautiful_.

They had no idea how much time had passed, but eventually, both of them stopped playing as Ryoma went to retrieve a can of Ponta off the rather old bench, handing Tezuka a bottle of mineral water. There was a collective groan from all of the ones watching, as they had been so absorbed with the game.

"Man. They've stopped playing. I didn't realize the both of them were so close." Momoshiro said.

Echizen was speaking softly to Tezuka, who _smiled_. Momoshiro's jaw dropped open.

His jaw unhinged completely, however, when Tezuka bent down and kissed the Seigaku captain.

It was a good thing Inui had clamped a hand over his mouth at that moment, for he was going to scream.

"I hope that answers your question." Inui said.

To be continued...

A/N: Really getting too addicted to writing the Tezuka X Echizen scenes. Maybe I should cut down on those scenes? Be sure to write your view on this in your reviews.

About why Echizen's parents were so open-minded, there was another reason, actually, but that would only be shown in the sequel. (Provided I'm hardworking enough to write a sequel. Yup. The plot was already in my mind. My imagination tends to spin faster than my fingers can type) If I don't write a sequel, then I hope you can settle for the 'open-minded' excuse they gave.

Some of the scenes would be further elaborated in Life After Seigaku. Major angst coming up soon, in about a couple of chapters. I'm putting up warnings beforehand anyway.

**Please read and review. No FLAMES please.**

-Gwyn


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own prince of Tennis or any of its characters. I only own my original chars.**

**Warning: Spoilers for latest manga chapters. Shonen-ai fic. Angst in some chapters. Suggestive/naughty hints in this chapter.**

**Parings: Tezuka X Echizen. Momoshiro X Ann**

**(This chapter is followed by chapter 12 in Life After Seigaku)**

A/N: _**Setting the major angst in the next chapter. Be warned that it would not end happy**_.

**Trumpet-Geek**, I was always under the impression that people in America are quite open-minded. Not very clear about this, so thanks for your info. Forgive me if I had said something offensive.

**arsenic-graffiti**, don't worry, my fingers are still fine. It helps to train my typing skills. (mind. I'm not a touch typist, but thanks to this fic I can at least type much faster now)

**Harry Draco Malfoy**, yup, angst basically means sad scenes in the story.

**Crossover Masters**, yup, the sequel is KuniRyo, and the idea is so crazy that I wonder if I should post it.

**darksaphire**, actually Tina is still around as a minor character. I had thought of letting her make a cameo appearance but that would ruin both my stories, so she'll make an appearance after the angst, after which I will get rid of her once and for all. For now, know that she lingering in the background like a ghost. XD

**To everyone else who have reviewed as well, thank you.**

One more thing. If possible, always read **Echizen, Our Buchou** first before reading **Life After Seigaku**.

To the story then…

**Echizen, Our Buchou**

By: Gwynhafra

Chapter 10

Ryoma was in high spirits as he went for practice that day. Their tests would be starting from today, and the first subject was English, which was a piece of cake to Ryoma. After all, he used that language a lot when he was back in America.

Also, he noticed that his tennis players were improving, thanks to Inui's weights training, which was a good thing, as the district games were coming up next.

"Ohayou, Momo-senpai." He greeted his best friend.

Momoshiro, who was chatting with Katsuo and Kachiro, gave a yelp at hearing Ryoma's voice. "Aa...O...Ohayou...Echizen." he scurried off, leaving down a blinking captain.

"What's wrong with him?" Ryoma wondered aloud. He turned his questioning gaze to his fellow sophomores, who shrugged.

Ryoma decided that it wasn't important. Momoshiro was the most cheerful person he had ever seen. Whatever was bugging the vice-captain, he would most likely get over it soon.

With that reassuring thought, Ryoma decided to call all the players to practice.

"Listen up. The District Competitions would be in the middle of this month. All of you are to give your fullest attention. Got that?"

"Hai! Buchou!" they chorused.

Ryoma turned slightly and noticed Momoshiro giving the prodigy what seemed like a wary look, though when their eyes met, Momoshiro jumped as if he was electrocuted before jogging off to talk to Kaidou, something that the usual Momoshiro would not do. Of course, he and the Mamushi began fighting almost immediately.

The captain frowned, but decided not to think too much about it as he went to check on the first years.

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Momoshiro was relieved to see Ryoma walk away, as his head was still too messed up with what he saw yesterday.

'Tezuka-buchou kissed Echizen-buchou…Tezuka-buchou kissed Echizen-buchou…oh my goat! How could Echizen like kissing another guy?! That is so wrong…I never knew that he was gay! What am I going to do…Tezuka-buchou kissed Echizen-buchou…'

"Momoshiro-kun. You're being very narrow-minded." Inui commented, making him jump again. (The dunk smash player was feeling edgy after all)

Inui had a tendency to creep up behind friends before breathing down their necks, and Momoshiro hasn't gotten used to that yet, though Echizen has.

"Inui-senpai…how long has Echizen-buchou…been like this?" he asked.

Inui flipped through his notes. "Hmm…technically they started dating during the holidays, though sparks started to fly some time before the District Games last year."

Momoshiro looked horrified. "What! He had been gay for so long?! I can't believe I never knew about it at all, and I was the one who hung out with him the most. He looked so normal that I never knew. Oh goats! What if he falls for me next? What if I become gay too?"

"Could you stop it with that hyperactive brain of yours? I've calculated an 83 percent that your reaction would be exactly like this, but it's still annoying!" Inui's glasses flashed as he got fed up of Momoshiro's antics.

Momoshiro looked slightly green. 'My best friend is gay!!!' he thought miserably.

"Echizen-kun is perfectly normal. It doesn't matter if he likes Tezuka. Feelings come naturally after all, and he has no control over that. You don't have to act like he has some kind of disease." Inui coaxed.

Momoshiro was having conflicting feelings within himself. Part of him wanted to stay as far as possible from the boy, while the other part of him treasured their friendship too much to even think of breaking it off.

"Instead of letting your mind roam like that, why don't you talk to Echizen and see what he has to say about it? You were the one who pestered me to see who he was dating after all."

"I thought that he was dating a 'she'. I didn't expect the 'she' to be a 'he'…" Momoshiro began muttering in a fashion that was similar to Fudoumine's Ibu Shinji.

Inui sighed. Fuji was right after all. They might have revealed it too early.

Momoshiro looked like he had finally made up his mind as he stood on his feet.

"Alright! I've decided to talk to Echizen!" he said.

"Talk to me about what, Momo-senpai?" the devil himself asked.

Momoshiro's courage deflated immediately as he gave a powerful shudder, like someone had poured a bucket of ice water on him.

"I CAN'T DO IT AFTER ALL!!!" the dunk smash player wailed as he ran off, tearing at his hair.

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This was the first time, perhaps, that Ryoma actually hated the English exams. Two hours were allocated for the paper, and Ryoma always finished his within 45 minutes, but he still had to remain seated in the hall for the rest of the time until all their answers were collected. Only then would they be allowed to leave the hall.

Well, one hour and fifteen minutes was a lot of time to kill as Ryoma sat there. Usually he would have just taken a nap until the time was up, but this time, his mind was too occupied to sleep.

There was something definitely wrong with Momoshiro Takeshi. His friend had been ignoring him…no…avoiding him was a better word for it, and no matter how he tried to rack his brains, he just couldn't think of how he might have offended the senior.

'What did I do…?' that line repeated itself in Ryoma's head.

"Echizen-kun? Echizen-kun. Please hand in your paper." Ryoma snapped out of his thoughts to find the whole class laughing at him. The teacher was standing next to his desk, with everyone else's answer sheets in her hands.

"Sorry." He handed over his papers.

As the whole class left the hall, Kachiro and Katsuo came up to their captain.

"Are you alright, Ryoma-buchou?" Kachiro asked.

"You're not falling sick, are you?" Katsuo added.

Ryoma shook his head, though he did not elaborate further.

Kachiro and Katsuo both exchanged looks. They really did not know how to deal with this.

"It's difficult if one finds out about conflicting issues…" Takahiro muttered as he walked past. As usual, Kachiro and Katsuo ignored him, as they never could understand what the chessmaster was talking about.

Just then, Momoshiro poked his head in.

"Ah. Katsuo-kun. Kachiro-kun. Let's go for a snack." He was looking at the ceiling, the fan, the blackboard…anywhere else but at Ryoma.

"Sure!" both of them hurriedly packed their bags.

"Ne, Momo-chan fukubuchou. What about Echizen…"

The sophomore blinked as he didn't finish his question, for Momoshiro was already gone, and he was quite sure the third year had been at the door a few seconds ago.

Both of them cast a look at their captain, who got to his feet, carrying his bag. "Go on ahead. You don't need to worry about me." He spoke in a dead voice.

"Ryoma-buchou…" his two classmates gazed worriedly as Ryoma walked past them, his expression unreadable.

As Echizen got to the door, to his surprise, he found the chessmaster standing there.

"For you. Eat this and cheer up." The chessmaster said without a change to his expression. Ryoma realized that the boy had shoved a meat bun into his hands.

The chessmaster then turned and walked off, though he halted in his steps after a while.

"It would be a good thing to go speak to the vice-captain. Any longer and your friendship might be in danger." He said.

Ryoma blinked as the boy walked off. After a while, he smiled. The chessmaster was always acting like he couldn't care less about anything. Who would have known that he actually had a kind side?

With that, Ryoma went home pondering of how he should talk to Momoshiro.

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"Ne. Momo-chan fukubuchou…did you and Echizen-buchou…have a fight?" Katsuo asked tentatively.

Momoshiro nearly choked on his burger at Ryoma's name. He gave a forced grin.

"Now why would you think of that?" he tried to laugh it off, though he was not convincing anyone.

"Fssshhh…" Kaidou was in the cafeteria as well. His rival knew him so well that he had already detected that there was something bothering Momoshiro, and he brought his homemade lunch to eat here as he was worried for him.

(Kaidou: "I'm not worried for that baka Momoshiro! Fsshhh!")

"The both of you had not spoken at all today. Also, isn't that usually Ryoma-buchou's seat? I've never seen you in the cafeteria without him before." Kachiro looked at the place which Kaidou was now seated on, though he quickly looked away as the snake-shot player glared.

Momoshiro wanted to avoid that topic the whole day, and his temper flared at Ryoma being brought up as a subject again.

"Could you all just stop talking about Echizen!!!" he yelled, causing the whole cafeteria to go silent.

Kachiro and Katsuo flinched, while Kaidou's eyes narrowed.

"Momoshiro. If you're not happy about something, don't take it out on us!" the snake shot player snapped.

"What did you say, Mamushi?" Momoshiro seized the front of Kaidou's shirt, effectively starting off yet another fight.

Both Kachiro and Katsuo stayed low until the two tennis players were dragged off by Tsun and Itsuki, who, luckily, had stayed in the cafeteria as well after school.

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Ryoma was glum as he sat on the park bench. Even Ponta did not help to lighten his mood.

"What's bothering you?" he heard his boyfriend asked.

Tezuka came to sit next to him, and Ryoma leaned against the senior high captain, finding his presence comforting.

"Momoshiro." He mumbled.

Tezuka's glasses flashed. Was Momoshiro bullying his Ryoma?

The next moment, Ryoma had launched into complaints about Momoshiro, speaking so fast that even Tezuka had trouble keeping up with him.

"He's been avoiding me all day, and I have no idea what I did wrong!" the senior high captain waited patiently as Ryoma ranted on.

Once Ryoma was done, he sagged against Tezuka again. "I have no idea of what I should do. I don't want him to hate me." He said finally.

Tezuka stroked Ryoma's hair, an action that he knew the younger boy found soothing.

"I've seen the two of you together and I know how strong your friendship is. For Momoshiro to be acting like how he is now, I don't think he's _offended_. I have a feeling there are other reasons." Tezuka stated his opinion gently.

Ryoma blinked at him. True. Even if he made Momoshiro mad, that guy would usually calm down if Ryoma bribed him with burgers. This round, he was avoiding Ryoma as if it could save his life.

Ryoma groaned and massaged his head, feeling an oncoming headache. "Now what do I do…"

"Speak to him. If he wouldn't talk to you, get someone else to speak to him." Tezuka suggested.

"He wouldn't let me anywhere near him. I wonder if there's anyone else who could actually speak to him." Ryoma closed his eyes as he tried to come up with an idea.

After a while, he opened his eyes and gave an irritable sigh. He couldn't think up of anything.

"I'll do my best tomorrow then. I must leave now. My parents set me a curfew now that they know I'm dating."

"Good luck." Tezuka said, giving him one last hug before letting Ryoma go.

"Thanks. I have a feeling I would be needing a lot of that."

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Speaking to Momoshiro was a task easier said than done.

For Momoshiro seemed to have developed some kind of radar, detecting Ryoma's presence from far off and fleeing to safety before Ryoma could get anywhere near him.

Unless Ryoma had suddenly developed the powers of telepathy, there was no way he could remotely _talk_ to Momoshiro.

"Momo-senpai…" Ryoma tried again that day for the umpteenth time, but Momoshiro had already flown off, leaving down a cloud of smoke and a few first years sprawled on the ground like bowling pins.

"Ch…" Ryoma walked back to his class. He passed by Tsun and Itsuki's classroom without noticing that both of them had been observing him.

"Yup. Now I agree with you, Keita. Those two are definitely fighting." Tsun said.

"I noticed Momoshiro muttering to himself a lot. Did he hit his head somewhere?"

Tsun shook his head. "No way. He has a very thick skull after all." Both of them snickered, though they both gave a yelp of pain as their teacher hit them on the head with her plastic ruler.

"What do you think you're both doing? Pay attention!" she scolded.

"Hai, sensei." They apologized sheepishly.

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The next day, nothing had changed; as Momoshiro made sure he stood on opposite ends of the tennis courts, away from Ryoma.

Of course, everyone could sense that, for the captain and vice-captain were always together.

"Hey you three! You're standing too close together!" Momoshiro snapped at the three first years, who were swinging their rackets for practice.

"Sumimasen, Momoshiro-fukubuchou." They apologized, looking confused by Momoshiro's weird order. They inched a few steps away from each other before continuing their practice.

Momoshiro knew he was being oversensitive, but there was really nothing he could do about it. He couldn't help wondering just how many gays were wandering around in the tennis clubs, and it seemed like everyone was standing too close to each other to his liking. He had the strong urge to request for the boys and girls tennis clubs to be merged.

He could feel Echizen's sharp gaze all the way across the courts, and was careful not to make eye contact with the Seigaku captain. 'I don't like guys! Please don't look at me like that, Echizen...' The vice-captain thought desperately.

"Alright. That's all for today's practice." Echizen called out, letting everyone off early.

Momoshiro gave a sigh of relief as Echizen walked off, though he could hear some of the members whispering about him and the captain having a fight.

"I know why! Echizen-buchou probably owed Momo chan-fukubuchou some money, and now Momo chan-fukubuchou is angry with him." Horio said sagely.

"Oh? Really?" Horio's audience gasped, throwing Momoshiro a look as he passed. He did not even bother to correct Horio.

'How troublesome...' a certain Chessmaster thought as he watched how the vice-captain was acting whenever Echizen got near him.

Takahiro was not known to be one of the most observant people on the tennis field for nothing, and he could see how both parties were actually dying to speak to each other, though Momoshiro was being very cowardly.

He could see that they missed each other's company as he was more emphatic than he actually let on. Well, all these drama did seem interesting, and since he had nothing better to do, he decided to give those two a hand.

He walked past a rather low-spirited Echizen, turned around a corner and noticed Momoshiro coming from the opposite direction. Without changing his expression, (something he was good at ever since he was a child), he walked up to the dunk smash player.

"Momoshiro-fukubuchou. Class 2A is giving out free hamburgers."

That got the vice-captain's guard down as he rushed off to grab a prize, and he collided head on with Echizen.

"Ah, gomen...Echizen!" he paled, looking like he had seen a ghost.

"Momo-senpai..." Echizen blinked in recognition.

A split moment later, Momoshiro tried to make his escape, but Ryoma was way faster. Darn his split steps!

"I would like you to explain why you've been avoiding me these few days." Ryoma's eyes were angry diamonds.

Momoshiro blew up completely.

"Cause you're GAY!!!" he yelled, causing birds outside to take flight.

It was a good thing he had yelled so fast that barely anyone caught what he had said, and everyone was just staring at him because he had yelled.

Ryoma's eyes narrowed. The next moment, he had seized his senior by the sleeve and shoved him into the nearest class, which was vacant. The prodigy then shut the door behind him.

"Excuse me?" Ryoma asked, though his tone indicated that he had heard Momoshiro the first time, just that he didn't want to believe his ears.

Momoshiro used a few tables to put some distance between himself and the other boy.

"You're gay...and I never knew..."

Ryoma closed his eyes. He had no idea how Momoshiro had found out, but he did not expect his best friend to have such an extreme reaction.

"So what?" He finally opened his eyes again, giving Momoshiro a challenging stare.

"What? How could you even say that..."

"I'm asking you, so what?" Ryoma repeated.

Momoshiro massaged his head. "You don't even feel disgusted? You're a guy! You're supposed to be dating girls, not guys! How could you even like being gay?"

"Gender does not matter to me. Besides, if I date a guy, it makes me bisexual. If I date a girl, it still makes me bisexual..."

Momoshiro had no idea what Ryoma was talking about, and it was shown clearly on his face. The Seigaku captain noticed that and gave a wave of his hand.

"Never mind. Forget what I've said."

Momoshiro stared at his best friend. "I can't believe it's Tezuka-buchou you're going out with, and I had such high respect for the both of you."

Ryoma was quiet at that. Momoshiro interpreted that silence as guilt, and continued on.

"I think you would have been better off dating that Tina girl...or Tomoka...or how about Ryusaki's granddaughter? She likes you after all."

"Momo-senpai. Why do you like Tachibana's little sister?" Ryoma suddenly asked.

Momoshiro blushed slightly at that. "Well…no particular reason…because she's cute, I guess."

"Hmm? So if she wasn't cute you wouldn't have liked her?" Ryoma challenged.

Momoshiro's eyes flared angrily. "Don't insult my feelings for her!" he snapped.

Ryoma gave him a stare. "Then why are you insulting my feelings for buchou? By suggesting that I go out with someone else, you don't think I'm being serious with Kunimitsu."

"K-Kunimitsu? My gosh…you're even calling him by his name…" Momoshiro felt faint.

Ryoma turned away from him. "I like Kunimitsu. Whether you want to accept the fact that I'm gay or not, it's up to you."

"Echizen! Are you even thinking about your own future? If you date a woman, you can have a family in the future, but what is left for you if you date a guy?"

Ryoma turned back to him, and Momoshiro couldn't quite read what emotions were flashing past in Ryoma's eyes.

"I see. So you take Tachibana's little sister as a baby-machine. I find your thinking rather pathetic. At least I'm not taking Kunimitsu as a walking stud."

Echizen walked off and threw the door open. "There is no point in speaking with you. With that mentality of yours, our friendship would be going nowhere. Mind, it's _Kunimitsu_ who suggested that I should speak to you. Now I'm wondering why do I even need to bother." Ryoma walked off, and Momoshiro felt a twinge of guilt at seeing how unhappy the other boy was.

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"Was I wrong, Ann-chan…?" Momoshiro asked later that day.

Ann said nothing as she finished her drink. Currently, she was beginning to question what was it she liked about Takeshi. Her boyfriend was really dense.

"Ne. Ann-chan. By how you're not surprised about what I told you, I have a feeling you already know." Momoshiro stated.

Finally, his girlfriend stared at him in the face. "Of course I did. I've told you before never to underestimate a woman's intuition."

Momoshiro gave a groan and buried his face in his hands. So everyone else in the whole knew about those two dating. He was probably the only idiot left who didn't know.

Ann could see the conflicting thoughts in Momoshiro's head and reached across the table to touch his hand lightly. "Takeshi. How much do you value your friendship with Echizen-kun?"

At her words, memories rushed through his head. Echizen and him enjoying burgers after school. Echizen and him playing street tennis. Echizen treating the whole team in Kawamura Sushi after their win in the District preliminaries.

Now he really missed hanging out with his apathetic best friend. Of course, Echizen had never really shown it or said it out loud, but the captain had really thought of Momoshiro as a friend.

"Imagine if it had been a reverse situation, and Echizen-kun is heterophobic. How would you feel if he avoids you after knowing that you are dating me?"

'I don't want to lose his friendship.' Momoshiro thought.

Another thought contradicted the first. 'But he's gay! Why would you want to hang out with a freak?'

'I don't care! Aside from that, he's pretty normal.'

'But he's gay…'

'Ah! Shut up!' Momoshiro willed away the other voice in his head.

Ann could see her boyfriend's determination to apologize to the Seigaku captain and beamed. "Echizen-kun is no different than he was before you found out he's dating Tezuka-kun. You're only scaring yourself, Takeshi."

Momoshiro winced. He still didn't like the idea of gays, but he would make an exception, and only for his best friend.

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"Is it Momo chan-fukubuchou who owes Echizen-buchou money now?" one of the tennis club members asked.

It was the reverse situation, as Momoshiro looked like he wanted to speak to Echizen, but the captain was avoiding him. Echizen did not let his personal emotions show much, as he seemed normal to the rest of the club members, but the more observant ones like Inui and Takahiro could see that the golden eyed captain was holding a grudge against Momoshiro.

"Echizen, listen I…"

"Takahiro! You're up next for a match against me." Ryoma deliberately raised his voice to block off Momoshiro's words as he picked up his racket and proceeded to have a game with his classmate.

Momoshiro now knew what Ryoma must have been feeling these few days. He felt a twinge of guilt, but hurriedly suppressed it.

Fortunately, Ryoma was not the type to be angry forever. A few rounds of tennis got most of the steam out of him, and Momoshiro was able to approach him after practice.

"Echizen." He said warily as he approached the younger boy.

Ryoma did not bother to look at him, gulping down his Ponta with intense concentration.

Momoshiro put both of his hands together before his face in an apologetic gesture. "Gomen, Echizen. I was such a jerk to you these few days. Please forgive me."

Echizen threw him a bored look. "Why are you talking to me? I'm a gay. Isn't that a taboo word to you?"

Momoshiro did flinch a little at that. "Well…uh…I still don't like the idea of guys liking guys…"

Ryoma made to get up from his seat. Seeing this, Momoshiro hurriedly continued on.

"But I hate the thought of not having you as a friend even more, so maybe I'll just…ignore this little detail…I mean, you and Tezuka-buchou would be an exception…"

Ryoma was secretly amused at how the homophobic was struggling to phrase his words. Ah well, Momoshiro was brought up to think this way, and Ryoma would be unfair to Momoshiro if he thought that the other boy could change his mentality so quickly.

He continued to drink his Ponta, ignoring the pleading gaze Momoshiro threw him.

"Please forgive me. Ne, Echizen?"

Ryoma did not speak until he had finally finished his drink. He flung the can, which fell into the nearest bin easily.

"Ground…50 rounds. Go." Was the only reply from the captain.

Momoshiro hung his head. Yup. There was no way Echizen would forgive him after all. He supposed he would have done the same if Ryoma had questioned his relationship with Ann as well.

"Hai…" he began to run his laps.

"Momo-senpai." Ryoma's voice made him turn back. The Seigaku captain was actually smiling a little.

"After you're done, meet me at the school gates. We'll walk home together." With that, Ryoma got up from his seat to check on the first years in charge of cleaning the courts.

Momoshiro's face lit up almost immediately. "Hai!" he answered more enthusiastically before doing his laps.

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Ryoma was in high spirits as he called his boyfriend up to tell him about everything.

"He's still not entirely comfortable with the idea about guys dating, but I'm glad that he's making an effort to acknowledge our relationship." He told Tezuka.

"_Aa. That's good_." The Kanto High player replied.

Even though the both of them were dating, their calls to each other still had a lot of pauses in between. Well, they're not the type to speak much, after all, and they could interpret each others thoughts quite well, so words were hardly needed.

However, Ryoma detected almost immediately that there was something different about Tezuka's silence that day.

"What's wrong?" Ryoma asked worriedly.

He could picture Tezuka shake his head over the other end of the receiver. "_Nothing you should worry yourself about_."

Ryoma frowned. "Kunimitsu. I thought you've promised not to hide anything from me if you have something troubling your mind. It's your school, isn't it?"

There was a pause. Ryoma knew that Tezuka was wondering if he should tell the younger boy or not.

"_Aa_." The Kanto High captain gave in and told Ryoma about the recent events in his school.

Ryoma scowled. He really wanted to kill that witch of a headmistress.

"Kunimitsu. Let's go on a date. Tomorrow, meet me at the usual park." Ryoma made up his mind in an instant.

"_Eh?_" Tezuka was obviously confused, since it was usually him who asked to go out for dates.

"The district competitions are coming up soon anyway. Let's use this as a way to practice…and for you to let off some stress. In fact, to make sure that the both of us play seriously, let's set a punishment for the loser." Ryoma smirked.

Tezuka's mood seemed to have lightened up. "_Very well then. So if I lose, do I have to shave my head?_"

"I wouldn't want you to lose that hair of yours, Kunimitsu." Ryoma secretly loved running his fingers through Tezuka's light brown hair. He always wondered what shampoo his boyfriend used. "Instead, you would have to treat me to lunch for a whole year if you lose."

There was a pause on the other end. "_Very well then, and if I win…you would have to do whatever I say_."

Ryoma grinned. Tezuka would probably make him do all the housework, or help to mow his lawn…or maybe he had to run 100 laps?

"Alright. It's a deal then. Neither of us would be allowed to run away from this."

"_Aa_."

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Ryoma wondered what was keeping the Kanto High captain. He had been waiting for nearly fifteen minutes already, and the usually punctual captain was nowhere to be seen.

Finally, he could see Tezuka running over from a distance. The older boy screeched to a halt next to him. "So sorry I'm late."

Ryoma's eyes bulged at the sight of his boyfriend, for Tezuka was wearing this very, very _tight_ black shirt. He could see the outline of his boyfriend's perfectly toned body. Could Kunimitsu even play in such constricting clothes?

Once Ryoma had managed to stop staring and drooling, he picked up his racket.

"Let's have a good game, and don't expect me to go easy on you this time, Kunimitsu."

"Aa."

It turned out that Tezuka could play perfectly, as he pinpointed the shots at all the corners. Ryoma on the other hand could hardly play at all. Tezuka was not bulky, like Kawamura was. His lean body was slightly muscled at all the right places, and Ryoma found that to be severely distracting as his muscles moved with every return he did. He was concentrating more on holding back a nosebleed than on the game.

Needless to say, Ryoma was completely pulverized, 6 games to 3.

"What's wrong with you?" Tezuka asked, striding over to Ryoma's side once the game was done.

Ryoma shook his head to clear it. "Nothing. I hope you're feeling better now, with whatever was bothering you."

"Aa." Tezuka smiled.

His smile turned into a grin seconds later. "You've lost, Ryoma. Now you have to do whatever I say."

Ryoma lowered his cap. "Usu."

The Seigaku captain remembered something at that moment. "My parents are out today. Want to drop by my house?"

Tezuka's grin was so wide that Ryoma wondered if he had been wise to ask about the punishment. "Aa."

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Momoshiro hummed to himself as he made his way to Echizen's residence.

He had just gotten some coupons for Pizza House's from his cousin, and while he was tempted to ask Ann-chan to go out with him, he decided to ask Echizen instead, to make up for all the times he had been ignoring the other boy.

Echizen's pretty cousin greeted him at the door. "Ryoma's in his room. Do you want me to call him or would you like to come in?" Nanako asked.

"I'll go look for him myself then, thanks." Momoshiro stepped in. "Sorry for intruding." He said, making his way to Ryoma's room. He was familiar with the place anyway, since he had been here before.

Reaching Ryoma's door, he raised a hand to knock when he heard his captain yell.

"Yadda!!!"

He froze. The king of eavesdropping immediately did what he did best as curiosity had gotten the better of him. He pressed his ear to the door, listening hard.

There was the sound of a zip being pulled open, and he heard Tezuka give a chuckle that made all the hairs on his arms stand.

"I'm not letting you escape from this, Ryoma." Was the senior high captain actually _purring_?

Momoshiro felt his heart fall to his stomach. Echizen. Tezuka. Alone in a room. Not good at all…

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Ryoma backed away from Tezuka, who had just pulled out the most **obscene** thing he had ever seen in his life.

"Stay away from me! Don't you dare come near me with that!" he panicked.

Kunimitsu advanced, and Ryoma backed off hurriedly, though he tripped and fell butt-first on his bed. Seeing that Tezuka was coming closer, he gave a meep and scooted away from the crazy Kanto High captain. It was only when he felt his back pressed against the wall that he knew he was trapped.

His boyfriend smiled evilly at seeing him cornered. He crawled up to Ryoma, still holding that thing. "What? I thought you were the one who agreed to the punishment, Ryoma."

"I didn't expect this! I'm not prepared for this. There's no way I'm putting that in my mouth. It's huge!"

Tezuka placed his hand under Ryoma's chin. "A promise is a promise. Open up."

"But…there's stuff oozing out of that thing…" Ryoma whined.

"That's normal." Tezuka forced it into Ryoma's mouth, and a sharp taste hit the poor junior high captain's tongue.

Immediately, he tried to spit it out, but Tezuka gave him a warning look. "Don't spit it out. Swallow it. You can suck on it a little if you'd like."

Ryoma scowled. His throat was beginning to hurt. Kunimitsu definitely looked like he was enjoying this. The older boy's glasses glinted.

"Oh? You look like you want more." He said, and Ryoma's eyes widened.

The next moment, Tezuka had shoved _it_ deep in him, and tears sprang to Ryoma's eyes. It suddenly felt so hard to breathe.

"Kunimitsu, please stop…I can't take it anymore…" Ryoma didn't care that he was outright begging now. How would he have known that was dating such a sadist.

He felt something warm, and wet…

His fingers touched that substance, and his hand shook at seeing it. Red. Blood.

"Maybe I overdid it…" Tezuka frowned, pausing for a while.

"I'm bleeding, so of course you overdid it!" Ryoma snapped at him.

Tezuka seemed to consider it before giving a shrug. "Ah well. We're almost done anyway. Just hang in there a little while longer."

Ryoma groaned. "I can't take it anymore…Kunimitsu…please…I'm going to…"

"ECHIZEN!!!" Seigaku's vice-captain/power player barged into the room at that moment.

To be continued…

A/N: Ufufufufu…I dislike reading cliffhangers, but I sure like writing them. I'm as sadistic as Tezuka. XD

Well then, I wondered if I've bullied your imaginations enough. Will leave it free to your imaginations as I take my time writing the next chapter. Don't feel like posting the next one so soon. I really don't like the idea of any more flames. It'll kill my mood to write.

I was once homophobic. Very homophobic. I'm more tolerant towards it now, or else I wouldn't be writing this fic, but I tried to remember what my reactions might have been like when I wrote the part about Momoshiro. I hope it turned out alright. Please give me feedback for this.

To think I'm already throwing a few hints about what the sequel would be like. (Hint: the conversation between Ryoma and Momoshiro). Wonder how many of you might be able to pick up the hint. Whatever it is, I'm NOT going to give out any more spoilers. Kekeke.

Well then, **Read and review**. **No flames please**.

-Gwyn


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. I only own my original chars, though Tina and the headmistress are up for adoption, if any of you would like them.**

**Warning: Spoilers for latest manga chapters. Shonen-ai fic. This chapter ends with major angst.**

**Pairings: Tezuka X Echizen, Momoshiro X Ann.**

**(This chapter is followed by chapter 13 in Life After Seigaku)**

A/N: I do hope you people weren't eating or drinking anything when you read the previous chapter. I doubt spitting hot chocolate at the computer screen is a good thing. The ending of the previous chapter is definitely not for the weak hearted. So far, only five of you have managed to guess what that scene might have been.

**Kawaii-Gaara-Chan**, you actually managed to guess it. Omedetou…XD

**llimecandy**, you somewhat managed to guess a little of it. Well then. Read on for the answer.

**Skyla Ladona**, You managed to guess it as well. Omedetou.

**mik89**, you've guessed a part of it.

**um...**, you're the only one who caught the hint I threw in Life After Seigaku. LOL! Congrats. You've guessed it as well.

As for the ones who have not guessed it...

**darksaphire**, I agree with you. Not to mention it's a whole batch of bishies, so I'm not surprised that it's one of the most perverse animes ever. XD .

**Tenkoi**, I've set the rating at T just for in case. The hints in the previous chapter were really ambiguous after all, and K+ doesn't allow any form of suggestive hints.

**HEIDI**, oooh. You like AtobeJirou as well. Nice. Aside from AtobeJirou, another pairing I wouldn't mind is TezukaAtobe, the best alternative after TezukaEchizen. Hmm…AtobeFuji huh…mind, I was tempted to do that, or InuiFuji, but I'm sticking to him being straight in this fic. We can't have all of our bishies going gay or there would be nothing left for the girls. Already we're short with two bishonen captains. XD.

**Trumpet-Geek**, **Kurai-hoshi5**, looks like I have something in common with you people after all. (formerly homophobic). I'm still quite reserved though. I'm alright with gays (not really with lesbians though. Maybe coz I'm a gal myself) but if they start making out in front of me I would be looking somewhere else. Even with straight couples, I don't quite like public displays of affections. Gah! I feel like such a hypocrite. I'm making Tezuka and Echizen kiss after all. (Guilty…) Please excuse me for sounding like Ibu Shinji.

**mimikitty**, (replying for Seigaku Kittens, Echizen, Our Buchou and Life After Seigaku) Glad that you're joining the POT fanclub. Welcome. Welcome. Hehe. About why I don't have POT related stories amongst my favs…well…when I added fav authors and stories the last time, that was quite a number of years ago, and I did that so that it's easier for me to look for those stories again. I'm not adding anymore favs recently. Too lazy to. :p Glad that you're another TezuRyo fan. To look for other TezuRyo fics, set the pairings on the top right corner of the Tennis no Ohjisama page to Tezuka K. and E. Ryoma, then click 'go'. That's what I did when I first started having this TezuRyo craze. A few good ones I would recommend…hmm…**It Began on the Streets** and **The Fall of the Prince**. I found these two very nice. As for another fic that I really like (but it's not TezuRyo. It's TezuAtobe) is **Changechildren**. Go read that one as well. For humour, I would recommend **Training Camp or Not** and **Tenipuri Phone Messages**. Especially the latter. I've laughed so much I think a few of my teeth might have fallen out, though you might have to use 'search' to look for **Tenipuri Phone Messages**. It was posted a long time ago and I have no idea which page it would be in by now. I think that's about it, my current favs…

**Thank you all for your reviews**

Please read this fic first before reading **Life After Seigaku**.

Currently going slightly crazy. The latest chapter I've read to now is a match between Tezuka and Chitose (chapter 332). Pinnacle of Hard Work VS Pinnacle of Great Wisdom. There is a 100 percent chance that Tezuka would lose (or Ryoma would not be playing at all, since now Seigaku has 2 wins and 1 loss), but I sure hope my guess is wrong. I dislike the idea of Tezuka losing. Can't wait to see the next chapter!

So sorry for the very long A/N. On with the story…

**Echizen, Our Buchou**

By: Gwynhafra

Chapter 11

"I can't take it anymore…Kunimitsu…please…I'm going to…"

"ECHIZEN!!!" Momoshiro didn't care if Nanako had heard him mowing down the door with his brute strength. It was important that he rescued his best friend from the clutches of an evil, horny ex-buchou/monster.

He stopped short at the sight that greeted his eyes...

For both Tezuka and Echizen were on the latter's bed, fully clothed, and apparently...Tezuka was force feeding the younger boy a whole box of Kawamura's Spiciest Volcanic Sushi- The K-high captain's favourite form of punishment.

(A/N: Hmm…I should start charging Kawamura for advertising. What were some of you people thinking anyway? XD)

"I'm going to die!!! Water! Water! Water!" the prodigy finished his sentence, tears streaming out of his eyes, while it seemed that the Wasabi had caused him to have a nosebleed as well.

Tezuka sighed. "I guess you really can't take the penalty after all. All of my Kanto High members are given this punishment if they performed badly during practice, you know." He kept the rest of the sushi in his bag, _zipping_ it close when he was done.

The still stunned Momoshiro handed Ryoma's water bottle over to the prodigy, and the boy drank gratefully. "Tezuka-buchou...you're such a monster..." Momoshiro was turning green.

Ryoma shook his head. "I've asked for the punishment, so that the both of us would play seriously against each other, but I didn't expect him to get the XL-sized Sushis. Heck, look at the amount of Wasabi oozing out of this thing." He gave his boyfriend a glare, though Tezuka looked unrepentant. On the contrary, the K-High captain looked like he was holding down a laugh.

Once Ryoma had managed to regain his composure (and stopped his nosebleed as well), he turned his attention to his vice-captain. "By the way...what are you doing here anyway, Momo-senpai?"

Momoshiro was still green, as his imagination had already fried half his brains. "I wanted to drag you out...but I've changed my mind. See you tomorrow at school then. Have fun with buchou." He walked rather unsteadily away. He would most rather ask Ann-chan out now. Just when he thought he was alright with gays, those two had to go and scare him like this. It looked like he would not be getting used to them anytime soon after all.

"Do you think he's alright? He looks like he's about to pass out any minute." Ryoma stated, seeing Momoshiro stumble a few times.

Tezuka on the other hand had a rough idea of what Momoshiro might have been thinking about, and was biting down the urge to yell '100 laps!' "He'll be alright." He answered bluntly.

Once Ryoma's throat had recovered a little from the spicy torture, he looked over at Tezuka. "I hope you're feeling better now. This really is the last time I'm having this kind of match against you." While Ryoma had hated the sushi experience, he was glad that at least Tezuka didn't look so stressed out anymore.

"The next time, I think I'll just ask Inui to share some of his latest inventions." Tezuka said with a straight face.

Ryoma paled. "On second thought, the Wasabi sushi sounds delicious to me." He mumbled.

The prodigy then reached up to touch Tezuka's face lightly. "I hope you're not too troubled by the headmistress anymore. If you need someone to complain to, always know that I'm around to listen." Ryoma grinned.

Tezuka smiled in return. This kind side of Ryoma was reserved only for him, and Tezuka loved the other boy for that as well. "Aa." He leaned forward.

Unfortunately, they were interrupted by Nanako's yells. "What happened to the door?! Ojii-san and obaa-san are going to be mad...!"

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Momoshiro was the only one watching over the tennis club members that day, as Echizen-buchou had gone off to help out the Seigaku girls' tennis team with their training.

Two weeks left to the District Games and counting. This round, the senior high and junior high games were roughly around the same time, so he severely doubted that Tezuka and the others would be able to watch their games.

"I wonder how Echizen actually manages to keep the club under control..." he muttered, seeing that 90 percent of the members weren't playing seriously.

Aside from the regulars, only a number of the non-regular members were actually practicing. The rest were just standing by the sides, chatting amongst themselves.

"Alright. Switch players. Those who haven't played yet, you're all up next." Momoshiro ordered.

His words had little effect on the members, as all of them took their own sweet time to enter the courts. Then again, many of the members didn't take the friendly vice-captain seriously anyway.

As time went by, Momoshiro's mood switched from neutral to bad.

"That's it! Group punishment! 50 laps!" he yelled.

A few of the members could be seen complaining, as some started jogging instead of running.

"Anyone who doesn't make it back in 10 minutes would have to try out my new Akaizu." Inui suddenly stated, and all the members began running like their lives depended on it, though everyone could see that only the regulars looked like they could run within the time limit.

So it was 20 minutes later when the tennis courts were filled with players sprawled on the ground, foaming at the mouth. The regulars were all spared as they made it within the time limit. All of the regulars (minus Momoshiro, who had not run and Echizen, who wasn't around at all) were sitting in Court A, trying to regain their breath.

"Thank you, Inui-senpai. I really am not cut out for this…" Momoshiro sighed.

Inui scribbled something down in his notebook. "Your friendly nature makes everyone think of you more as a buddy than as a vice-captain. You should be stricter the next time. In time, people would learn to have a little more fear towards you, and you would not have any trouble giving commands to the team."

Momoshiro groaned. "Fear huh…I really hate intimidating others into listening to me." He looked up at the sky and sighed.

"That Echizen is so lucky. He's probably enjoying himself in the presence of all the girls now. How is it he gets the easier job…?"

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Momo-senpai is so lucky…how is it he's getting the easier job…?" Ryoma sighed, feeling the gaze of over 50 girls on him. Had Momoshiro been here, the senior would most likely have enjoyed the attention. Not Ryoma though. Aside from on the tennis courts, he didn't like the spotlight to be on him.

Currently, he was standing with the girls' team captain Serika, who was giving the order for all her members to assemble.

"Minna, I believe many of you would have already known who this is. Echizen Ryoma, captain of Seigaku Boys' Tennis Club." She introduced, and already the girls were going into a frenzy. ( You can't really blame them. Ryoma is the third most popular stud in the whole school after all.)

"The boys' captain is finally here! I wonder if he could give me his autograph." One girl whispered, and her friends giggled with her.

"Serika-buchou. Shall we begin? I would have to return to my team soon." Ryoma asked, lowering his cap a little to block off the sight of his gaggle of fangirls.

"Hai. Well then. Split yourselves into groups of 5. Echizen-buchou and I would be checking on your performance. Regulars, form a group amongst yourselves."

This turned out to be the amongst the worst practice that Ryoma had ever seen, as many of the girls deliberately played terribly so that he would have to go over to correct them.

"Relax your shoulders a bit. You're too tense." He instructed one girl, who was beginning to blush madly as he corrected her posture.

"Anou…Echizen-buchou. Maybe you should give her a shoulder massage?" another girl suggested playfully before the she and a few others burst out into giggles, causing the girl he was instructing to turn as red as Kikumaru's hair.

Ryoma frowned. "Yadda. All she needs is more practice, not a massage."

Eventually, he was done with all the non-regulars. While the girls were now practicing amongst themselves, Serika-buchou led the way to the regulars.

"Ryoma-sama! Over here! Over here!" Tomoka waved madly to get his attention, while Sakuno merely smiled shyly at him.

Without a word, Ryoma walked towards them, and all the girls looked excited at the idea of him training them.

"Hello." He greeted Sakuno. At least she was someone he was on friendly terms with. As for the rest, he gave each of them a curt nod in greeting.

"Alright girls. Get into pairs. You would all be playing doubles against each other and Echizen-buchou would be evaluating you based on your performance."

"Hai! Serika-buchou." They chorused before getting into pairs.

Ryoma watched on as they played against each other, noting with a small twinge of pride that it wasn't just the boys' tennis team that was good. The girls were doing pretty well too. In fact, as he watched on, he felt that they weren't making any disastrous mistakes that require his intervention.

Tomoka, whom he noted to have a talent for tennis, was pinpointing all her shots accurately. Sakuno had improved greatly, and looked like she had definitely been practicing with her grandmother. She was a volley player. The girls' captain Serika was a power player…well…nowhere near as strong as Momoshiro or Kaidou, but a power player all the same, though she could also be considered as an all-rounder.

Of course, he corrected some of their grip as they practiced on, but when they were all done, he voiced his satisfaction. "Your team is good enough as it is. Keep up the good work. We hope to see all of you in the Nationals as well." He said.

The girls beamed at him. "Hai! Echizen-buchou."

"Anou…Echizen-buchou…could you show us that twist serve of yours?" a girl asked meekly.

Ryoma raised an eyebrow, though he picked up his racket all the same. "Sakuno, is it alright if you become my practice partner?"

"Eh? H-hai!" she agreed, picking up her racket.

Ryoma did his specialty, the twist serve and all the girls cheered at seeing it fly towards Sakuno's face.

However, to all of their surprise, Sakuno actually managed to return it.

"Eh?" A few girls exchanged looks.

Ryoma smirked at that. Not many people know that both he and Sakuno have been practicing quite frequently. It was Sakuno's request, of course, as she wished to improve her skills. Being her friend, he agreed to help her, and occasionally Tezuka came to join them as well.

"You've really improved, Sakuno. Omedetou." The boys' team captain gave a brief compliment.

"Hai!" she said happily.

Meanwhile, outside the fence, Ryoma's number one stalker, who was missing in action for some time, had started her annoying banshee shrieks/chants the minute she saw him.

"Ryoma! My prince! How I've missed you!!!" she yelled the words so loud Ryoma had a feeling the boys' team all over the other side might have heard her as well.

Ryoma groaned. He had already rejected her flat out, but it seems like she still hasn't gotten the point. It looked like at this rate, she would only leave him alone if he were dead or something.

Serika-buchou frowned as Tina had suddenly barged into the courts.

"Hey! Only club members are allowed in here!' she warned.

"Fork off, beach! I want a word with my Ryoma!" Tina spoke indignantly.

The regulars had to stop a livid girl captain from killing off the intruder, who had marched right up to Sakuno. "Ryoma is only being easy on you. If you can return the twist serve, I'm sure I can too." She boasted.

Ryoma adjusted his cap, his golden gaze showing that he was unhappy that one of his friends was bullied. "Oh? Very well then. Sakuno, please let me have a match with her."

Tina took Sakuno's place and waited eagerly, poised to hit the ball as Ryoma served.

The twist serve flew towards Tina, who caught it perfectly…with her face.

"I think I'm done with my demonstration." Ryoma said, concluding his practice and leaving down a now passed out Tina in the courts.

(A/N: Arigatou cousin Itsuki for the Tina-bashing suggestion. Hehe.)

Serika-buchou looked like she was hiding her glee as her eyes flicked over to Tina sprawled on the ground. "First year. Please dump...I mean...carry her out of the courts." She instructed.

With that, Serika and Ryoma went to the sides for a while for a brief talk.

"As I can see, your team consist of three volley player, two counter punchers, two power players and one all-rounder. Am I right?" Ryoma asked.

"Hai. You really have been very thorough with your evaluating, haven't you?" Serika smiled.

Ryoma had a small smirk as his reply. "Your team is strong enough, as I see it. Some of them would have to improve their left right dashes, and some had to improve their accuracy, but so far, they're alright."

"I see. Thank you for taking some of your time to help us. We really appreciate that." Serika said gratefully, sending him back to the boys' courts.

As they walked, Serika suddenly posed a question at him.

"Echizen-buchou. Do you think the girls' team can match up to the boys' team?"

Ryoma halted in his steps. Slowly, he turned around and lowered his cap a little.

"Mada mada dane." He replied before walking off. Serika shook her head slightly, amused. "Such a cocky captain. I can't help feeling sorry for the boys."

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Echizen! You're back!" Momoshiro sounded relieved.

Ryoma surveyed the club, noting that most of the members were unconscious. "Were we attacked while I was away?" he asked.

Momoshiro gave a sheepish laugh. "Nothing too serious. They just had a taste of Inui-senpai's Akaizu."

"Ah." Ryoma shuddered at the thought of it. He raised his voice. "How long are all of you going to lie on the courts? Resume practice!"

"Hai, buchou…" the members who had recovered enough had begun another round of practice again.

Momoshiro gave a sigh. "I envy you, Echizen. Somehow you have no problems in controlling the club. What's your secret?"

Ryoma gave him a blank look. "What secret?" he asked. All one had to do was give the command and the club members would obey, right? What was so difficult about that?

"Never mind…" Maybe it was Tezuka's spirit rubbing off on the Seigaku captain. Then again…Oishi wasn't having trouble with the members either, so why was he the only one the players didn't really listen to?

"Did Oishi-senpai choose the correct vice-captain to succeed him, I wonder…" Momoshiro muttered.

The next moment, Ryoma had poked him on the forehead. "Itai!"

"Momo-senpai. Stop it with your self-doubt. I don't think you're a bad vice-captain. I'm sure the players would give you a different response, but they'll listen to you all the same."

The Seigaku captain then crossed his arms. "Besides, I don't think I can work well with anyone else."

At that, Momoshiro had the mental image of Kaidou as the vice-captain, and nearly chuckled at the thought of the mamushi hissing at all the club members.

"I guess so…" Momoshiro finally admitted, feeling a tad happier.

Ryoma smirked. "Baka. Should anything happen to me, you'll have to take over the club, you know."

"Don't say things like that, Echizen. It's bad luck." Momoshiro frowned.

"Mada mada dane. Just have more faith in yourself. Don't drag me down during the District Games." Ryoma said before walking off to check on the regulars.

"That Echizen…" Momoshiro chuckled, glad that Ryoma had at least made the effort to cheer him up.

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"You want me to what?" Ryoma asked, his spoon stopping before it reached its destination (his mouth).

Nanjirou had his face buried behind his papers. "You're coming to help me out with training the Kanto High students after your class has ended. I suppose it's only fair if you help out, since it was you who made the request for me to train them in the first place."

Ryoma thought about it a while. He didn't mind training them, actually. But one thing he really hated was his father's last minute decisions.

"Yadda." He just felt like rebelling. It always gave him a sense of freedom just to go against whatever his father said.

Nanjirou had a gleam in his eyes. "Oh? I was thinking of giving your boyfriend a little test, to see if he's worthy enough to date you."

At that, Ryoma's head snapped up, breakfast completely forgotten. "Oyaji…whoever I'm dating, it's none of your business." He growled.

"I believe I have a duty as a parent to keep an eye out for the welfare of my offspring." Nanjirou grinned.

Ryoma felt the hair on his arms stand. His father had been using very cheesy lines after finding out about his relationship with Kunimitsu. Then again, he father loved to embarrass him anyway.

"Fine. I'll meet you after school. On one condition though…don't you dare tell anyone that you're related to me."

"As usual. I'll know what to do." Nanjirou finally put down the papers

"And no porn magazines." Ryoma added.

The next moment, Nanjirou had spat out his coffee. "What?!"

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Hmm? So this is where the Monkey King lives?" Ryoma tried not to look too impressed once he gotten off the car.

His father got off and shut the door behind him. "Actually, this is just one of his mansions. Come along. I think you would be pleased to see the 20 over tennis courts he had in there." It was a good thing Nanjirou's back was facing Ryoma, or he would have seen his son's jaw drop.

"Remember not to make a fool of yourself." Ryoma said quietly.

"Of course, of course." Nanjirou replied casually.

"And leave Tezuka alone." Ryoma added.

There was an evil gleam in Nanjirou's eyes. "I wonder about that…"

Before Ryoma could throw a retort at him, one of the butlers had opened the gates.

"The young master Keigo and the others are waiting. Please follow me, gentlemen." He led the way in.

Ryoma kept his cap covering his eyes, not wishing to take in any more of his richly furnished surroundings. It wouldn't do for him to meet the senior high students with his jaw dragging on the ground. He had a reputation to keep.

Ryoma didn't need to look up when he heard pounding footsteps rushing his direction, and surely enough, he found himself being a stuffed human plushie to one energetic acrobatic player.

"Ochibi!" he yelled happily against Ryoma's ear, causing the poor junior to go half-deaf. Just ahead of Nanjirou, the rest of the senior high students looked like they wanted to have their eyes checked, though Tezuka gave Ryoma the smallest hint of a smile.

"He's your assistant?" Oishi asked.

'What assistant? I'm here against my own will!' Ryoma thought, throwing his father a dirty look.

His father gave him an evil grin in return. "That's right. It was by his request that I came to train the club, so I forced him to help out as well."

'You just have to embarrass me, don't you?' Ryoma groaned inwardly.

The next moment, he found his right arm seized by his redheaded senior.

"That's great nya! Come, ochibi! You'll be joining us for practice!" Kikumaru ignored Ryoma's protests as he dragged Ryoma off to one of the many courts in Atobe's mansions, with Oishi and Asakawa trailing behind them. Ryoma stopped resisting, for his eyes were wide as he surveyed the place. His father definitely wasn't joking about the '20 over' tennis courts.

"I want to pair up with Ochibi. Oishi! Go over to the other side."

Oishi chuckled as his doubles partner playfully shooed him away. "Hai, hai. Don't expect me to go easy on you, Eiji."

"Of course!" Kikumaru never got tired of playing against his doubles partner. He loved playing tennis with Oishi as much as he loved playing tennis against him.

With that, all four of them began their game. (Ryoma: "I don't play doubles.")

Of course, with Ryoma around, naturally Kikumaru-Echizen pair had the advantage, though Oishi seemed to have developed a new skill with him extremely accurate shots.

"Ochibi! Oishi's going to use moon volley!" Kikumaru warned.

"Usu." Using his split step, Ryoma was already at the back of the court.

Oishi's shot did look like it made a high arc above Kikumaru's head, though halfway through the arc, it suddenly shot down at a point that was unguarded by either of them.

Kikumaru's eyes widened. "Hoi? When did you learn that kind of shot?"

Oishi laughed sheepishly. "I've gotten the idea after watching how the tennis machine Arnold played during the US-Japan match, though it's still not perfected yet though. I was hoping to perfect it during this match."

"Hmm...interesting." Ryoma finally decided to get serious.

Ryoma did a Twist Serve, "Asakawa!" Oishi yelled.

"Got it!" Asakawa dodged the shot at his face with lightning reflexes before returning it to the other side of the court.

"Hoi, hoi! That's too bad, see you next week!" Kikumaru used his acrobatic play.

"Not really." Asakawa had sped off to return the shot, hitting it back.

Ryoma then scored with a simple flick of his wrist. "Mada mada dane." He smirked.

"Ochibi! Nice shot!" To Ryoma's dismay, his senior had glomped him yet again.

The game went on, and while Oishi's 'Tracking' skill had improved greatly, for some reason Ryoma was able to return it easily as the game proceeded.

"I think it's a good idea to take a break now." Asakawa suggested once the game was over (6 games to 3)

"Hai." Oishi agreed, going over to the sides and plopping himself down on a bench. Kikumaru bounced off to glomp him moments later.

"Oishi lost to Ochibi and I nya." He sang, sticking his tongue out. Oishi merely gave a laugh and batted at the other boy's arm playfully.

"Senpai-tachi…from what I've seen…" Ryoma pinned a look at Oishi.

"Very useful, your 'Tracking'. Your incredible accuracy allows you to pinpoint at the most unexpected places, making it look like the ball had somehow 'dived' to the unguarded spots. However, you have a tendency to glance at the spot you're about to fire your shot to. The more observant ones like me would pick up that hint eventually. That's why I was able to return your shots."

Asakawa gulped when the junior high captain then turned golden eyes to him. "As for you, your advantage is your incredible speed, which allows you to catch up with the craziest shots. However, you accuracy is not too good yet, and you don't usually think much about returning it to a spot where the opponents will not be able to hit, as you are focusing on just getting the ball over to the other side of the net. Well. I can't blame you, as you are still too new in tennis. In that case, put your focus on defending the ball from coming over to your side of the court, and allow your doubles partner to score. In time, when you have gained enough experience, you can then try to polish up on your returns."

Lastly, golden eyes were fixed on a redheaded ball of energy.

"As for you, Kikumaru-senpai…quit trying to latch onto me. It's disgusting." Ryoma muttered. The only contact he didn't really mind came only from his darling pet cat Karupin and Kunimitsu, and occasionally his okaa-san. Aside from that, everyone had better keep their distance (and hands) from him.

"Hoi hoi! There's nothing wrong with a friendly hug, ochibi!" Already, Kikumaru had Ryoma in yet another bear hug.

"Eiji…" Oishi sighed at seeing how Ryoma was struggling to get out of his senior's grip, while Asakawa was chuckling.

Just then, Ryoma stopped struggling as he stiffened.

"Ochibi?" Kikumaru looked down. Did he squeeze too hard and cause the other boy to faint or something?

"Buchou…" Ryoma suddenly muttered. Shaking out of Kikumaru's grip, his head spun sharply over to one of the other courts.

They could then see Tezuka having a match against Nanjirou, and by the looks of it, Tezuka had activated the Pinnacle of Hard Work.

'Oyaji!' Ryoma scowled. For the level-headed Kunimitsu to activate his strongest skill in a practice match, his father must have said something terrible to his boyfriend.

Before he knew it, he had sprinted out of the court and had headed over to see how the match was between his father and Kunimitsu.

"Whoa! Tezuka-buchou is really fierce nya!" Kikumaru commented, now bouncing on the spot excitedly at seeing how the K-High captain was scoring again and again.

'Oyaji is not playing seriously yet. If he does…Kunimitsu might get hurt…' Ryoma felt worry run through him.

Just as he feared, Nanjirou had then activated the Pinnacle of Perfection, and Ryoma didn't feel like watching the game anymore as his father evened out the scores at a rapid pace, though Kunimitsu was putting up a good fight as both were now using the Tezuka Zone.

"That's enough!" Ryoma decided to stop the match as he stormed inside the courts. He marched right up to his father to give him a good berating.

"Seishonen! You're not supposed to walk into the courts in the middle of a game, you know. Where are your manners?" Nanjirou asked, his pinky now picking his ear.

"Oyaji…I thought I've asked you to leave him alone. What do you think you're doing?" he hissed.

"Haa? Did you say something like that? I didn't notice." Nanjirou drawled lazily.

Seeing how agitated Ryoma was getting, the older Echizen then ruffled Ryoma's hair. "I was just fooling around with him, to test how serious is he about my son. Nothing wrong with that now is there? Well. He's all yours, seishonen. If you want dating tips you can always come to me."

"As if I will, you perverted oyaji." Ryoma had been keeping his voice low all that time for fear that the others might hear that they were related.

"Ah well. I haven't had such an intense match in a long time. He gives a better challenge than even you, seishonen."

"Oyaji…" Ryoma felt the urge to throw rackets. It was a good thing his father had then walked off, whistling his "mada mada dane" tune, or Ryoma might really do something that would get him sent to jail.

He felt a strong hand on his shoulder and turned slightly. Tezuka was giving him a small smile. "Don't put all the blame on him, Ryoma. I had agreed to this match after all. Besides, I think he said what he had said to make me play seriously, that's all."

"Kunimitsu…what was it he had said to you?" Ryoma asked.

"Not telling." Tezuka said, though his cheeks had flushed slightly.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I'm glad that's over." Ryoma sighed, happily enjoying a can of Ponta.

He had to train each of the players in turn, except Tezuka and Atobe. Ryoma had felt that Tezuka was good enough, and didn't need training. Atobe had thought that he himself was good enough, and didn't need training either.

Currently, he, Tezuka and Atobe were headed over to Kawamura Sushi. The others had gone ahead first. Ryoma had to stay back a while for a short rest, and also to have a glaring competition with his dad regarding the date the latter was going to. (Ryoma didn't know that his dad was going out for dinner with his mom)

"That baka oyaji…I really don't understand how he enjoys going out on so many dates." Ryoma snorted.

Tezuka for one was highly relieved that at least Ryoma did not inherit those perverted genes from his father. He severely doubted he would be too happy if Ryoma dated multiple partners at a go.

"So how are things over at your side?" Ryoma asked to start the conversation.

Tezuka's expression did not change. "We've figured out a temporary solution to one of our current problems. Atobe said that he would deal with it."

"Aa. We would definitely be in the Nationals before you know it." Atobe agreed. For most of the trip to the sushi restaurant Atobe had been quiet, as he appeared to be thinking. He only added a few words into the conversation occasionally.

"Hmm…" Ryoma smirked. He looked up at Tezuka. "I believe in you, Kunimitsu. When you play seriously, I don't think anyone can stand against you."

"I wonder about that…" Tezuka recalled his intense match against Shitenhouji's Chitose last year. It had been a clash against two extremely powerful players, the Pinnacle of Hard Work against the Pinnacle of Great Wisdom.

Ryoma shook his head slightly. "I still think you're the stronger one, so make sure you win the District Games." He grinned.

Tezuka sighed at Ryoma's odd encouragement. "Aa. You had better win yours too, or else you would have to enjoy some sushi, no?"

"Yadda." Ryoma paled at the memory, causing Tezuka to chuckle.

Soon enough, they had reached a crossroad.

"I would have to get over to the other side. Only one week left till the District Games. Good luck, you two." Ryoma said.

"Don't you dare lose to anyone else aside from ore-sama."

Ryoma gave his cocky glare at that. "Hmm…maybe the next time I play against you, you wouldn't have to shave just your hair, but your eyebrows as well."

He felt satisfied at seeing Atobe walk off indignantly. "Good bye, Kunimitsu." He gave Tezuka's hand a last squeeze before crossing the road.

Ryoma had barely crossed over to the other side when he heard the loud screeching of tires and the screams of pedestrians. Immediately, all his senses warned him of danger.

He whipped around, and his heart nearly stopped beating.

For a bright red sports car, driven by an obviously drunk young man, was speeding dangerously down the road, and currently the car was aiming at…Tezuka!

"Kunimitsu!" he yelled, for the senior high captain had walked on ahead and didn't look like he had noticed the car.

It was as if Ryoma had gone into the state of self-actualization, as his mind stopped thinking and his instincts took over.

Using the single footed split step, Ryoma reached Tezuka before the car did and knocked his boyfriend aside, just moments before the car hit him.

As Ryoma struggled to stay conscious, he could see Tezuka getting up through his blurry vision.

"At least you're safe…Kunimitsu…" Tezuka's name was his final words before the darkness claimed him, and the boy fell silent.

To be continued…

A/N::cough:: Yup, I've killed off Echizen Ryoma. I wonder if that was considered as angst though. Still bad at writing angst…-.-

That scene might seem rushed in this fic. It would be explained in the other fic as to who the drunk driver was. Hope that would clear things up.

Anyway, please **read and review**. **NO FLAMES PLEASE**.

-Gwyn


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. I only own my original characters, though one would be given up for adoption soon.**

**Warning: Contain spoilers for latest manga chapters. Shonen-ai fic. Very long chapter.**

**Pairings: Tezuka X Echizen, Momoshiro X Ann**

**(This chapter is followed by chapter 14 in Life After Seigaku)**

A/N:…..Pfft!

So sorry. I had added that 'fake' A/N at the end of the previous chapter to see how many of you actually believed what I said. Was feeling very sadistic at that time after 'killing' Ryoma off.

::cough:: Alright, I'll confess. Of course he's NOT dead. I can't proceed with the story if he was. If I really killed him off, I would have to rename my story to be 'The Late Echizen, Our Buchou' or 'Momoshiro, Our Fukubuchou'. Gomen again for that sadistic A/N.

**RyoTez lover**, gomen, but I can't promise you anything just yet.

**slyswn28**, yeah. Kikumaru is one cutie. I actually named one of my cats Eiji coz she was so playful.

**Milky Etoile**, I think the both of us might be indirectly related to Fuji. ::chuckles::

**RoxieBunny**, hmm…Ryoma an immortal…that's a scary thought. No one would want to play tennis anymore coz they can't beat him then. lol

**mimikitty**, (Headlines for the following day's papers) "Fanfic writer collapses from lack of sleep, food and breaks" XD

**kyuuketsuki kaji**. Yup. I don't consider that a flame so I'm not offended. Flames to me are people throwing foul words at me just because my plot runs different from what they had expected. (Gah…I don't even want to remember it…) Thx for your review. I'm flattered that my fics are able to invoke such emotions in readers.

**Thank you all for your reviews**

For this whole chapter…well…almost this whole chapter, you would not be hearing much of Echizen's voice because I've sent him on a long vacation.

**Ryoma:** (looks at plane ticket) Hmm? The Land of No Return…where is this place?

**Gwynhafra**: You don't need to know, Ryoma-darling. Just go for a holiday.

**Kunimitsu**: Ryoma! Don't go!

**Ryoma**: (Already boarded the plane)

**Momoshiro**: Bye bye, Echizen. Now then, it's finally time for me to shine!

**Kunimitsu**: … Momoshiro. 100 laps. Now!

Not much humour in this chapter, as it will take on a more solemn tone. Also, for the matches, I put emphasis on some, less emphasis on others. For the ones I don't put the focus on, would just be breezing through it.

So sorry that the updates this round took so long (and I left such a terrible cliffhanger. Guilty…). Was bombarded by assignments, and I had just finished one before I resumed typing this again.

Alright then. Would not chat too much. To the story then…

**Echizen, Our Buchou**

By: Gwynhafra

Chapter 12

Momoshiro sat down at the breakfast table that day and tried to finish his breakfast at record speed as he wolfed down his toast. He needed to get to the hospital immediately.

"Takeshi…isn't this person your captain?" his mother asked.

He leapt out of his seat and went to join his mother with reading the papers.

He couldn't have missed the news, for it was splashed all over the front page with big bold letter. "**Tennis Prodigy in Coma**"

"Echizen Ryoma (13), son of former professional tennis player Echizen Nanjirou and the youngest player ever to have reached the Pinnacle of Perfection, is now in a comatose state after an accident involving a drunk driver. News in pg 3"

"May I have that for a moment?" Momoshiro asked, and his mother gave him the papers for him to browse through.

Momoshiro briefly read the news about Ryoma. Apparently the drunk driver was the son of the headmistress of Kanto High, who was a member of the Atobe family. There was another article stating that the headmistress was now charged for embezzlement, and was to be trialed in court tomorrow.

He folded the papers and returned it to his mother. "It's him." He nodded gravely.

Early that morning

_Momoshiro grumbled sleepily as his phone rang. He opened one eye and took a peek at his clock. _

_3 a.m._

"_What the hell? Who on earth would call at this ungodly hour?!" The vice-captain of Seigaku rolled over, used a pillow to cover his ears and tried to go back to sleep._

_After a while, the phone had begun ringing again, and Momoshiro started cursing. It had better be Ann-chan. Anyone aside from her would be dead for calling at this time._

"_Hello?" He asked gruffly, his voice indicating that he was not happy at all. He hoped that it wasn't a telemarketer, or his temper would definitely flare._

"_I've calculated a 65 percent chance that you would not be very happy with me for calling, and I've calculated an 85 percent that if the phone rang long enough, you would pick it up anyway. However, I have some urgent news to tell you." Inui could be heard over the other end._

_Momoshiro yawned and scratched his head. "Just get to the point already, Inui-senpai."_

"_Echizen's in the hospital." Inui reported._

_Momoshiro's sleepy mind did not register what he had said. "I see. Thanks for telling me. Good night." He put down the phone and tried to get back to sleep. Honestly, for Inui to call and tell him a joke like that._

_A minute later, however, his eyes snapped open again. Wait a minute…since when would Inui make jokes like that. Also, did he hear Inui correctly?_

_He hurriedly found Inui's number from his phone book and called the data master. When Inui picked up, he sounded a little disgruntled. "I've calculated a 95 percent chance that you would call back."_

"_Inui-senpai! What do you mean Echizen's in the hospital?" Momoshiro asked, worry in his voice now that his mind was more awake._

"_Echizen met with an accident yesterday evening. His surgery had just ended not too long ago, and he's in a coma now. Just informing you that."_

"_What?!"_

XXX

Momoshiro jammed the rest of his breakfast into his mouth. "I'll be going now." He told his mother and he sped off, feeling extremely anxious now.

He had called up all the other regulars at 6 that morning to inform them about the news. Everyone was told to meet up in front of the hospital by 8.30am, as their classes would only be starting at noon.

Reaching the hospital, he found Kaidou already there. The two rivals did not say anything as they stood with their back facing each other. Kaidou was hissing softly now and then, most probably his way of calming himself down.

Kachiro and Katsuo arrived next, and Takahiro arrived not too long later. The two sophomores had anxiety written all over their faces, while the Chessmaster's expression was unreadable.

"Momo-fukubuchou! How's Ryoma-buchou now? Is he alright?" Kachiro asked.

Momoshiro held up his hands to stop their questions. "I've only heard about it this morning too, so I don't know how he is doing now either."

Finally, Tsun and Itsuki arrived. With that, the regulars stepped inside the building.

Momoshiro went to the receptionist counter. "Anou…may I ask which room is…"

"Momoshiro." Inui had just stepped out of the lift, and now the data master was walking over to them.

"Inui-senpai…" Kachiro and Katsuo began, but Inui placed a finger to his lips.

"Just follow me. I'll take you to Echizen." He said quietly.

All of them followed him into the lift, which brought them up to the 4th floor. Inui then led the way to one of the wards (Ward 13), and when they entered, a few of them (including Momoshiro) gave a gasp.

For Ryoma lay on the bed, heavily bandaged, and both his right arm and his right leg were in casts. The boy looked like he was dead, if it wasn't for the steady 'beep' of the machine indicating his heartbeats.

Ryoma's parents were in the room as well. His mother sat with her head bowed, and his father was trying to give her a glass of water to calm her down. Momoshiro noticed that Tezuka was in the room as well. The Kanto High captain's eyes were fixed on the prone form of the Seigaku captain.

"I believe the papers today would have mentioned about Echizen already. He was hit by a car driven by a drunk driver." Inui told them before pulling Momoshiro aside. The others were now looking at their captain solemnly. Katsuo and Kachiro tried to talk to Tezuka, who seemed to have become a human statue as he gave no response to them.

"What's with Tezuka-buchou?" Momoshiro asked.

Inui lowered his voice. "The thing is…that car was originally not heading in Echizen's direction. It was going to hit Tezuka, but Echizen pushed him out of the way and took the hit himself."

Momoshiro's jaw dropped from shock. "So…Echizen protected Tezuka-buchou…?"

"Aa. As you can see, he's not taking it very well. I believe he blames himself for Echizen's condition. Don't bother trying to talk to him. He doesn't even know we're here."

Both of them were silent for a while.

"I suppose Echizen…really did love Tezuka-buchou. He's the type to express himself through actions." Momoshiro spoke up again, coming out of his thoughts.

Inui nodded. "Aa. It is not different from your love towards Tachibana's little sister."

Momoshiro was beginning understand a little more about gays. He would not fully accept them, perhaps, but he definitely made an exception for those two.

They stayed on in the room, all with their own thoughts about everything that had happened. Finally, Momoshiro glanced at his watch and realized that it was almost time for school.

"Alright, minna. We would have to leave now. Inui-senpai. Please look after buchou." Momoshiro said.

"I understand." Inui promised, watching as the Seigaku regulars left.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Seigaku Tennis Club was shaken by the news of their fallen captain, though Momoshiro immediately took charge as temporary captain, watching over the club in Ryoma's place.

With Echizen down, Momoshiro then ordered for a quick selection to be held, and Arai was chosen to take Echizen's place as one of the eight regulars.

Right before the day of the competitions, Momoshiro sat at the breakfast table browsing through the papers. He frowned at one of the articles, which had rather bizarre news.

**Plane Crashes into Ocean**

Momoshiro read on. Apparently a private jet that was bound for America had crashed into the Pacific Ocean just yesterday. The jet had experienced some turbulence mid-air. It was said that the cause was the supersonic shrieks from its sole passenger on board.

Momoshiro frowned. Who on earth could make such a racket to cause a plane to crash? Folding the papers he shook his head. First Echizen goes into a coma, now a plane crashes from excessive noise pollution. What was the world coming to?

Speaking of Echizen, Momoshiro decided to go visit the captain one last time that day.

He was at the hospital half an hour later. Ryoma's parents had just left, and only Tezuka was in the room with him, though the Kanto High captain did not even look up when Momoshiro entered. Momoshiro vaguely wondered if the usually stoic captain still went to school.

"Echizen…tomorrow's the District Games. Don't worry, all our members are well prepared this round…" Momoshiro spoke to his best friend. Even if Ryoma could not respond to that, he knew that the Seigaku captain must be listening.

There was a long pause as Momoshiro held back his tears at seeing how still Ryoma was. When he had calmed down enough, he spoke again.

"Arai has replaced you as a regular. Well. It's only temporary though. We'll definitely get into the Nationals…that is why…please wake up, Echizen. We'll always have a place reserved for you, so please wake up, and recover so that we can go to the Nationals together."

There were no more words spoken after that, and the only sounds in the room was the steady beep of Ryoma's heartbeat.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Ah. It's Seigaku…" a few people whispered as the Seigaku regulars arrived for their match.

The players, in their blue and white uniforms, could feel the gaze of everyone on them as they went to check in at the counter.

Momoshiro was not surprised by all the attention. After all, their captain had been in the news for days.

"Seishun Gakuen, here with the eight regulars." He told the person at the counter, and received a pitying stare in return.

"Are? It's Seigaku. I'm surprised to see all of you here. Such a pity your captain is down. Well, I don't think we have anything to worry about then. Compared to him, the rest of you are only small fries." Some players from Momomiku-an unseeded school snickered.

"What did you say?!" Kaidou had lunged forward, though Momoshiro held out an arm to stop him.

"Don't listen to their yapping. Let's go." Momoshiro ordered the team.

"Running away? Momoshiro Buchou-dai?" The next moment, that player gave a yelp as someone collided into him.

"Ah! Gomen! I couldn't see where I was going for a moment desu." The boy apologized, tugging at his green headband, which had fallen over his eyes.

"I don't think a simple apology is enough, boy." Before the Momomiku player could step forward, someone else loomed over them, sending them a glare so powerful that all of them went weak in the knees.

"Ah! Akutsu-senpai! You came to watch our game after all!" the boy said happily.

"Ch. I just happened to be around the area." Akutsu sent the Momomiku players a glare with the silent message "Get lost!" and all of them complied obediently.

"You're Yamabuki's Dan-kun." Momoshiro finally said. He had been trying to recall the boy's name for a while. Dan Taichi looked like he had barely changed at all, except that he had grown a few more inches.

"Hai desu! Good to see all of you again desu. You're our opponent for the first round. Well, I'll see all of you later desu." The boy gave a bow and left, with Akutsu following behind.

"We should get warmed up too." Momoshiro told all his players.

**XXX**

The games started that day with Doubles 2 players Katsuo-Kachiro pair facing Yamabuki's new regulars, Baku and Masahide.

Both sides began a rally that lasted over 20 minutes, though the Seigaku pair was obviously stronger as their co ordinations were better.

"Katsuo!"

"Leave it to me!" Katsuo had taken several steps back to return the shot, while Kachiro had moved to the front to cover the unguarded spaces.

Baku had then fired a shot over to the right, intending to lure Kachiro away from the net.

Kachiro made a few signs to Katsuo, who went to retrieve the shot. Kachiro then finished the game with a drop shot.

"Game and match. Won by Seigaku, Katsuo-Kachiro pair, 6 games to 1."

Katsuo and Kachiro were then replaced by the Doubles 1 players-Tsun and Itsuki, who had to face Kita and Muromachi.

"Whoa! He has swirls on his cheek." Itsuki exclaimed, looking like he wanted to see if those swirls could be rubbed off.

"Be careful, Keita. Those two were in the regulars last year." Tsun warned, positioning himself to serve.

"I know, I know. Well, doesn't make much of a difference. We will not lose, Minori." For once, the usually happy-go-lucky player looked serious.

"Aa." Tsun agreed quietly. They would not lose.

Tsun began the match, and all of them began playing.

"I'm going to hit to the right." Keita told the opponents before hitting the ball in that direction, and Kita went racing after it. Taking the chance, Keita had then fired a smash directly in between the two players, scoring a point.

"Game Seigaku, 1 game to 0" the referee announced.

"Unbelievable. You actually fell for that. If he says go right, you would just follow huh?" Muromachi sneered at his doubles partner.

Kita threw him a look of dislike. "I suppose you would have been able to handle that then?"

"Maybe. Sengoku-san did mention that I'm the better players after all."

"Oh? But I'm the one with the experience in doubles." Kita retorted.

"Anou…could we get back to the game? We're trying to finish this as fast as possible." Itsuki suddenly spoke up, stopping their arguments.

The Seigaku doubles players exchanged a look. From what they could see so far, Muromachi has a smart mouth, and Kita is severely cynical. Well, the optimistic player should have some fun with this.

Surely enough, every time either Itsuki or Tsun hit towards the centre, somehow the two Yamabuki players would collide with each other, sparking off yet another war between those two.

It wasn't helping that Itsuki would then pinpoint all their mistakes out loud; causing them to be so angry that their game was severely affected.

"Ch…I really can't trust people like you. Don't get in my way!" Kita attempted to return all the shots himself.

"Fine! I can laugh when you fail then." Muromachi snapped.

Tsun then hit a drop shot, and Kita failed to return it as he was already too worn out with running around the whole court alone.

"Game and match, Seigaku Tsun-Itsuki pair, 6 games to 0" the referee announced before long, and the Seigaku players walked off the courts, while the two Yamabuki players were left squabbling with each other until the referee pulled them both apart.

"I would have thought that they would be more used to each other, since they were in the regulars last year. Who would have thought that they're acting exactly like Momo-buchou dai and Kaidou-senpai." Tsun muttered thoughtfully.

"Hey, hey. Even Mamushi and I know not to fight during a match. I don't really blame them though. Itsuki here is a master at mind games. You must have provoked them on purpose to make them lose their focus."

"What are you talking about? I was merely stating facts when I pointed out their mistakes." Keita stated innocently. Tsun rolled his eyes and patted his friend on the shoulder. "Hai, hai. Well then. Singles 3 is up soon. Better not miss your Haruka-chan's match right?"

"You have a point! Haruka-chan! Go get them!" the optimistic player yelled. Itsuki had somehow dubbed the chessmaster to be his 'adopted little brother', a nickname which caused the strategist to wince every time his name was called.

The opponent, Rikuto-buchou pointed his racket at the expressionless Seigaku sophomore. "I don't think you can stand a chance against me. Who knows, when I'm done with you, you would be sent to the same place as your captain." He gave a laugh, missing the brief flash of dislike in Takahiro's eyes.

"Be my guest."

15 minutes later, the Chessmaster had walked off the courts, with the severely shocked referee announcing the 6 games to 0 score.

Rikuto-buchou had been an extremely strong power player, though Takahiro lured him all around the courts with his pawns, decreasing the opponent's concentration and causing the opponent to hit several shots out of the courts, with some being a homerun.

"Checkmate." The chessmaster had then said after returning the Rikuto's power shot with a power shot of his own, scoring a point right next to the opponent's left foot, which the chessmaster had noticed was the Rikuto's weak point.

**XXX**

Well, Kaidou's opponent didn't fare any better. The snake shot player's expression was looking absolutely frightening, and he was hissing more rapidly, probably from the combination of nerves and determination to win.

Kaidou had played his strengths-by drawing out the match to become a battle of endurance. The opponent had collapsed halfway throughout the match and Kaidou won as the other player could not continue the game any longer.

Finally it was all down to Singles 1…

"Ah. I was wishing to play against Echizen-kun desu. I'm so sorry to hear about him." Taichi admitted truthfully.

"Aa." Momoshiro did not want to press the subject any further.

Taichi noticed that and he nodded in understanding. "Very well. We'll begin playing then, Momoshiro-buchou dai."

…………

"Momo-chan buchou-dai!" Kachiro and Katsuo looked on anxiously as Dan Taichi had scored yet another point.

Dan Taichi had been inspired to play tennis thanks to two very powerful players, with one being the monster Akutsu Jin, and the other being Echizen Ryoma. Currently, Taichi was displaying his skills, which were borrowed from those two.

"Drive B!" It was disturbing to see someone else aside from Ryoma using that skill so perfectly, and Katsuo groaned as the points kept adding.

Surprisingly, Momoshiro did not look too troubled by it, as he still had a faint smile on his face.

"I play against Echizen all the time, so I'm pretty familiar with his skills. Well then, I've roughly seen how your tennis skills are like. You really haven't reached Echizen's level. Now then, it's about time I made my comeback."

Taichi had hit a twist serve, and Momoshiro returned it easily. "I can't lose to you eh, I can't." he stated, hitting a power shot.

Seeing Taichi prepare to use the Drive B, he backed off a little.

"Eh?! Momoshiro buchou dai had taken a few steps back! What does he think he's doing?" Arai asked.

The ball hit the ground, made an arc and hit the ground again, but before the second arc was completed, Momoshiro had hit it back with a Jackknife.

"Game, Momoshiro, 5 games to 3."

"Does that answer your question?" Takahiro asked Arai, looking bored.

While Dan had improved greatly, he was definitely no match for Momoshiro, who had far more experience than he did.

"Dun!" Momoshiro grinned as he had scored the final shot with a dunk smash.

"Game and match, Momoshiro, 6 games to 3. Seigaku has 5 wins, 0 losses. Seigaku advances to the next round." The referee announced.

"That was really a good match desu. I hope to play against you again someday." Taichi said as he shook Momoshiro's hand.

"Ah well. I'm sure we'll have that chance eventually." Momoshiro grinned before returning to his team.

XXX

"Hmm? Looks like we're finally down to the last opponent." Tsun said as they looked at the boards.

"Hyotei Gakuen…I wonder how are they doing now without Atobe." Momoshiro said aloud through a whole mouthful of burger.

"Ch…don't talk with your mouth full, baka Momoshiro. You're disgusting." Kaidou hissed.

"I'm doing this on purpose because you're around, baka Mamushi." Momoshiro snapped back, spraying bits of chewed bread and meat on the poor snake shot player.

As the two of them lunged for each other's throats, Katsuo and Kachiro hurriedly pushed them both apart. "Momo-chan buchou dai. Other people are staring…" Kachiro warned.

"We will now have the match between Seishun Gakuen and Hyotei Gakuen. Will the players come out to the courts now?"

"So soon? I haven't finished my burger." Momoshiro whined.

"It's your fault for fighting with Kaidou-senpai. You either eat that or throw that. Pick one." Takahiro said bluntly, already heading towards the courts.

"As if I will throw this. That will be wasting." Before Momoshiro could take another bite, Kaidou had taken the burger and thrown it.

"You're wasting time. Also, you can't play with a full stomach." The snake shot player had difficulty hiding his glee at seeing how stricken Momoshiro looked.

"My burger…you will pay for this, Mamushi!"

"Fssshh!!!"

XXX

Aside from Ohtori Choutarou and Hiyoshi Wakashi, the rest were all new faces. Though all seemed to have inherited the proud spirit of Hyotei as the regulars stared challengingly at the Seigaku players. Also, Hiyoshi was serious when he said he wanted to surpass Atobe, as now he seemed to have brought his own cheering squad with him. He too, like Atobe, had no vice-captain.

"Usually we would just have used our assistant regulars to play before the Kanto tournaments. However, we have long learnt not to underestimate your team, so we've brought our regulars this round." Hiyoshi- the Hyotei captain to succeed Atobe stated as the two school shook hands, and Momoshiro had no idea if that was a compliment, or just a cocky statement.

He decided to interpret it as the former. "Arigatou. We will not go easy on you."

"I will have it no other way. Gekokujou!" With that, the others moved off to the stands while the Doubles 2 players got ready.

Katsuo had injured his hand in one of the previous matches, and Arai now took his place to team up with Kachiro.

"This was a rather last minute decision; I do hope we haven't made the wrong choice in pairing the both of them up." Tsun muttered.

Ten minutes later, their fears were confirmed.

"This…is one disastrous combination…" Tsun muttered as the both of them failed to save yet another shot. Arai was more of a singles player, and it wasn't helping that Kachiro was still mildly intimidated by him.

"Ne, Momo-chan buchou dai. Why didn't you put Takahiro-kun in Doubles 2 instead?" Katsuo asked.

"We need him for Singles. Besides, he doesn't really play doubles anyway." Momoshiro's mood was getting from bad to worse as the game proceeded.

"Hey you! That's was supposed to be returned by you!" Arai snapped.

"Sumimasen, Arai-senpai." Kachiro squeaked at seeing how angry Arai was.

Arai was underestimating the opponents. True, he was a good player himself, but he tends to think of himself to be better than the opponents, and the opponents scored at places he didn't expect the shots to be directed to.

As for Kachiro, he was too busy trying not to collide with Arai, or not to accidentally hit the senior with his racket.

"Ne, Keita. Won't you say something? We definitely could use the morale boost." Tsun whispered to the optimistic tennis player, who was sitting as bench coach.

Itsuki gave him the brightest grin at that. "We can't possibly win this round." He said casually, and everyone felt buckets of ice run down their shirts at the 'negative' words coming out of the eternally optimistic player's mouth.

"Game and match, won by Hyotei, 6 games to 4." The referee announced.

Before long, the Doubles 2 players stood before a very livid Momoshiro. "30 rounds around the competition grounds. Go."

"Hai…" they jogged off, with Kachiro keeping his distance from Arai.

"Seigaku's reputation is definitely ruined. So baka Momoshiro wasn't the worst doubles player after all. Fsshh…" Kaidou stated it as an indirect compliment/insult to his rival.

"I'm starting to think that we made a mistake in adding him to the regulars. He doesn't get along with a lot of the players here." Momoshiro muttered. Currently, the list of those who have Arai on their dislike/hate list included Kachiro, Katsuo, Takahiro, Tsun and Kaidou.

Kachiro and Katsuo were still afraid of him as he had bullied them frequently when they were first-years, Arai didn't like Takahiro for beating him during the previous selections, Tsun didn't like Arai for his cockiness, and Kaidou just didn't like Arai.

"Echizen…now I'm really starting to miss having you on the team…" Momoshiro thought mournfully.

The temporary captain became bench coach as Itsuki had to go for his match. Seeing a solemn faced Itsuki freaked out the opponents even before the match had started. A frown just seemed out of place on the Seigaku third-year's face.

Somehow, Itsuki had kept quiet throughout the match, without the usual cheers or comments on the enemy, and the silence was causing the other two players to lose their concentration.

"Hey you! Could you quit staring at us like that? It's freaky!" Hyotei's doubles players whined as Tsun scored. They were already rooted to the spot by Itsuki's stare.

Both of them tried to focus on Tsun instead. Tsun was really strong at defensive, and the two players were having a hard time trying to score past him.

"Game, Seigaku. 5 games to 3." Keita had scored again, since the two players neglected his presence in the game and had not watched out for his shots.

"Let's finish this, Tsun."

"Aa. Let's try another formation. Your stare tactic was really useful though." With that, Itsuki positioned himself just before the net, while Tsun stood at the baseline behind Itsuki in a very familiar looking formation.

"Isn't that…Oishi and Kikumaru senpai's Australian formation?" Katsuo asked.

It was the Australian formation indeed, except that it was a little different in the sense that both the opponents were confused by Itsuki's stare, and when Itsuki shifted to the right, they followed like a snake to its charmer. Tsun would then score on their left.

"Goodness. They actually fell for it." Katsuo said happily. Itsuki had made it look like he was defending the right indeed, especially since his eyes were so serious, so of course they moved to block him.

"While Oishi and Kikumaru senpai used hand signs to tell each other of their next move, Itsuki-senpai would take it upon himself to confuse the opponents, since he is best at dealing psychological impacts. Tsun-senpai would observe Itsuki-senpai and the opponents, waiting for a chance before scoring. I suppose these two should be given a name as well." Takahiro stated his observations.

"Ch. Psycho pair…" Kaidou muttered.

"Game and match, won by, Seigaku's Tsun-Itsuki pair. 6 games to 3."

"They won! The Psycho Pair won!" Katsuo cheered just as Arai and Kachiro had finally returned from their punishment.

"Psycho Pair? Where did you get a name like that?" Kachiro frowned, and Katsuo nodded in Kaidou's direction.

"Mamushi…you really think up of terrible names, don't you?" Momoshiro frowned.

"Urusai!" Kaidou looked highly embarrassed.

Once the match was done, Itsuki seemed to have returned to his old self a little. "Well then. We won! Haruka-chan! Do your best!"

"Don't call me Haruka-chan…" the Chessmaster scowled, picking up his racket.

"What do you think that boy would do?" Tsun asked.

"He might come up with some dirty tactic, perhaps." Arai sneered, and immediately he found himself pinned with a stare from Itsuki.

"Don't speak ill of my little bro." Itsuki said while waving a finger in Arai's face, effectively shutting him up.

(A/N: I kinda made Arai like a criminal. Gomen to all Arai fans, coz I really do not like him)

Meanwhile, Takahiro studied his opponent. "Ne. You're a lefty, aren't you? I would suggest you play with your dominant hand."

"I don't need to use my left hand to beat you." The other sophomore stated, hitting a serve.

The next moment, Takahiro had fired a power shot in return, knocking his racket out of his hands.

"Your grip is too weak. I would be able to defeat you in just one step. That's no fun at all." Takahiro's voice was monotonous.

The opponent scowled. 'Very well then.' With that thought, he switched to his left hand.

The opponent served again, and this round, it was an even rally between the two.

"Game, Hasumi. 1 game to 0." The referee announced.

Takahiro did not even blink, even though he had lost one match. "6 moves." He said suddenly.

"Eh?" The opponent had no idea what the Chessmaster was talking about.

"I would require 6 moves each time to score a point. Should be quite an achievement for you." Takahiro stated.

A vein popped on Hasumi's head. 6 moves? What did this Seigaku player take him for?

With that, another rally began, and this round it seemed that Takahiro was using normal moves, though he really did score at the 6th hit.

"15-0"

Another 6 hits.

"30-0"

"I see. Takahiro's pawns are now getting faster, making the opponent have to race to retrieve them. He is also not giving the other guy enough time to think about defending. How evil." Itsuki chuckled.

"Game Takahiro, 3 games to 1." The referee announced.

The opponent looked completely out of breath, as he was already panting. Takahiro pondered yet another strategy. "This time, I would use just three shots." He told the other.

"3…3 moves. You have got to be joking…"

Takahiro used an under serve, making the ball land near the opponent's foot. Hastily, Hasumi tried to return the shot by hitting a lob.

"I was waiting for that." Takahiro smirked, already in mid-jump.

'A smash!' the opponent braced himself.

That smash never came, as the next moment the Chessmaster had hit a drop shot.

"Baka." Takahiro grinned, returning to the baseline.

Before long, the match was over, 6-1. It was all down to Singles 2.

XXX

"Win this, Mamushi!" Momoshiro yelled.

"I won't lose, baka Momoshiro." Kaidou hissed.

He faced a very meek looking Choutarou, who looked to be in low spirits.

"One set match. Hyotei's Choutarou to serve."

The scud serve player threw the ball into the air. "I Kyuu Nyuu Kon!" he fired the scud serve...which hit the net.

"Fault!" the referee called out.

Kaidou frowned as Choutarou served again, and once more it hit the net. "Double fault. 0-15."

Choutarou tried this a few times, and out of the five times he hit the scud serve, only one managed to cross the net, though Kaidou then scored with a snake shot.

When Choutarou started the next serve, he used a normal shot, no longer using his special skill.

"Look at him. He must have thought himself to be really special just because he was formerly one of the Silver Pair. Such a pity that Shishido-senpai had left him behind. Without his doubles' partner's support, he really is nothing special." Whispers could be heard coming from some of the players from other schools.

On the court, Choutarou was getting more and more nervous. They were right. Without Shishido's support, he really could not as perform as well as before.

"Game, Kaidou. 4 games to 1." The referee announced.

Kaidou lost his temper as the jeers got louder when Choutarou missed yet another serve. "Shut your trap, all of you! If you all think you're so powerful why don't you come down here instead?" he snapped at the people taunting Choutarou.

Choutarou looked uncertainly at the tennis ball in his hand. He was grateful that Kaidou was defending him, but it made no difference anyway. He was going to lose.

"Choutarou! Teme! Don't you dare lose!" a familiar voice yelled.

Immediately the silver-haired boy's head snapped up, scanning the audience and finding his target.

There was no mistaking that blue cap, or those fierce, challenging eyes. "Senpai!" Choutarou said disbelievingly. Wasn't the senior high games supposed to be today too? What was he doing here?

The hot-tempered half of the silver pair brandished his fists at his junior. "Don't you dare lose to that guy, or I will kill you, Choutarou."

Finally, a smile broke out on the silver-haired boy's face. He was grateful that Shishido-senpai had taken the trouble to come all the way here to watch his match. He would not lose. Not when his senior was watching anyway.

"I kyuu nyuu kon!" he fired his scud serve, and of course Kaidou couldn't return it.

Very quickly, Choutarou caught up with Kaidou's score, having regained his confidence once more.

"Fssshh..." Kaidou let out his breath in a hiss to calm himself down. He used a speed snake.

"Oh? That's a new skill. I've never seen him use such a fast shot before." Even Momoshiro was mildly impressed.

However, Choutarou returned it successfully. Speedy shots were not a problem for the scud serve player, who could hit a serve at 215km/h anyway.

"I will not let you down, senpai!" Choutarou hit a scud shot, a return that was nearly as fast as the scud serve.

"Game and match, won by, Hyotei's Choutarou. 6 games to 4." The referee announced.

For a while, Choutarou looked stunned, though the cheers of his teammates brought him back to earth, and he cheered.

"Senpai! We won!" he exclaimed, throwing a glance at his cap-wearing senior.

"Hmph. Of course. You're part of the Silver Pair, aren't you? You can't lose that easily." That was considered a compliment, coming from Shishido.

Meanwhile, Kaidou returned to his teammates. "Gomen." He apologized, though Itsuki smiled at him.

"Don't worry about it. We will definitely win the next round. Ne, buchou dai?"

"Leave it to me." Momoshiro headed over to the courts. They would have to win, no matter what.

XXX

"I wonder if you're able to win this match." Hiyoshi said in 'greeting' as the two captains shook hands.

A vein popped on Momoshiro's head. "What do you mean by that?" he asked, his smile twitching slightly.

"Don't underestimate me. Aside from your most powerful player Echizen, I don't think any of you could defeat me. The winner will be Hyotei." Hiyoshi said as he walked off.

"We'll see about that!" Momoshiro served, starting off a rally between the two.

"What do you think of this, Takahiro-kun?" Kachiro asked. Since Inui wasn't around to give them explanations, the observant Chessmaster was the next best option.

The sophomore remained expressionless. "No comment." He finally said.

"Aw come on, Haruka-chan! We're dying to hear about your observations." Keita said while patting his junior on the head repeatedly, annoying the eternally bored boy.

"Fine." He might as well say something to get his crazy senior to stop. "They're evenly matched, so I don't think I can predict who would win."

He turned his attention back to the game. "Momo buchou-dai has greater strength, but Hiyoshi-san has swifter returns."

"I think you might have made a wrong observation there. Momo buchou-dai is being overwhelmed." Tsun said quietly.

"Jackknife!" Momoshiro used his skill.

Hiyoshi immediately got into his Enbu Tennis pose. "Enbutenshu (Dance Towards The Heavens)" he countered Momoshiro's skill with such a fast return that the dunk smash player could not even react fast enough to counter it.

"Game, Hiyoshi. 4 games to 1." The referee announced.

Momoshiro clenched his hands into fists. 'Kuso! There really is no way to defeat that style of his. Echizen has the Drive B to counter it, but if I can't counter it with the Jackknife, there is no other skill that can go against that! What should I do?' he thought, getting slightly desperate as Hiyoshi scored yet another point.

"_Have more faith in yourself, Momo-senpai…_" Those familiar words rang in his head as he recalled one of the last words Echizen had told him.

In his mind's eye, it was as if the Seigaku captain was standing before him again, with the arrogant smirk on his face.

"_Should anything happen to me, you'll have to take over the club_."

At that, Momoshiro remembered that he had responsibilities now. He was not just the vice-captain of Seigaku. He was the temporary captain leading Seigaku now. There was no way he could lose here.

As Hiyoshi prepared the next serve, Momoshiro used his insight. The sun was beating down on the both of them. Well, this could work to his advantage.

"Gekokujou! You're finished!" Hiyoshi hit his Enbu Tennis again, though this time Momoshiro returned it successfully, hitting a lob.

"That's easy!" Hiyoshi prepared to return it, though the rays of the sun got into his eyes, and somehow, he seemed to see three tennis balls flying at him instead of one.

He fumbled when he tried to hit it, and the ball hit the net.

"Game. Seigaku. 3 games to 4." Momoshiro was catching up to Hiyoshi's score.

The temporary captain closed his eyes for a while. "Feels like a good breeze coming up. Alright! Here we go!" he served.

After a few shots, Hiyoshi used his Enbutenshu again, thought this time Momoshiro returned it...except that he seemed to have used too much strength.

"Baka. It'll be out." Hiyoshi smirked.

Momoshiro gave him a grin in return. "Nope. It'll be alright."

The breeze had guided the ball, and it hit directly on the line, much to Hiyoshi's surprise.

This happened several times. Using the wind to his advantage, Momoshiro's shots landed at all the unexpected places, and Hiyoshi was getting increasingly frustrated.

"I will be better than Atobe. There is no way I can lose!" he used his Enbu Tennis, and Momoshiro countered with his real Jackknife skill, knocking the racket out of Hiyoshi's hands. His previous ones only used 70 percent of his strength.

"Game and match, won by Seigaku's Momoshiro. 7 games to 5"

"We won!" There was an immediate cheer from the Seigaku stands, from both supporters and regulars alike.

Momoshiro shook Hiyoshi's hand. "That was a good game."

"Hmph. I was only going easy on you because your captain isn't around this time. Next time, I will be the winner."

"Hai, hai. Atobe's successor." Momoshiro grinned.

"Don't call me that. I've surpassed Atobe already. Gekokujou." Hiyoshi corrected the dunk smash player with a frown.

"Are you sure you would want to talk about Atobe like this? Better make sure he's not around." Momoshiro joked, looking around for any signs of the silver-haired diva.

"Hmph. That self-proclaimed king wouldn't know. He's most likely in a match right now, and I severely doubt that he would come running all the way here even if he knew." Hiyoshi smirked. Momoshiro laughed weakly. Poor Atobe must be sneezing his lungs out by now. With that, they went back to their teams. The temporary captain soon found himself swarmed by his teammates.

"Good work, Momoshiro. You did a fine job leading us. Echizen-buchou would have been proud." Tsun smiled.

"Aa." Momoshiro smiled as he saw the Seigaku flag, now being waved by Itsuki.

"We did it! We won! We did not let Ryoma-buchou down." Kachiro said, looking like he was about to burst into happy tears at any moment.

'We made it to the next round, Echizen. You have made a promise to join us for the Nationals, so please wake up.' Momoshiro thought.

"Seigaku! Fight-O!" The cheers continued to ring around the courts as the Seigaku players went to receive their medals.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, in ward 13, all was silent except for the steady beep coming from the machine.

On the bed, a certain green-haired captain's fingers moved ever so slightly. "Mada mada dane…" he whispered, smiling faintly.

To be continued…

A/N: Whew! I've finally finished this chapter. Now to type the other one. (-.-)!!!

Well then. The worst of the angst is over. I think many of you would prefer the ending of this chapter better as compared to chapter 11. Ne?

I've hinted that one of the OCs is now gone for good. Wonder if you managed to guess who that person was. Life After Seigaku would speak of what had happened to this OC as well.

That Shishido-Choutarou scene was free for interpretation. Fan service. XD

Now that I've gone past the cliffhanger, I can really take my time now. More assignments coming up, and I can't guarantee that I would be able to update as frequently as before.

So sorry again for the late update this round.

Please **read and review**. **No flames please**.

-Gwyn


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. Only my OCs belong to me.**

**Warning: Mild spoilers for latest manga chapters. Shonen-ai fic.**

**Pairings: Tezuka X Echizen. Momoshiro X Ann. One-sided Ryoma X Sakuno in this chapter.**

**(This chapter is followed by chapter 15 in Life After Seigaku)**

A/N: Yet another chapter up. I'm free to write humour again. Yay!

Would definitely need to go on a strict diet after this. I must have put on kilos after indulging in all those Chinese New Year cookies.

Oh well, now that the joy of receiving ang pau (red packets) is over, back to assignments again.

**So sorry for the late update. Did not manage to write within two weeks this round. Having to juggle between these two fics and **_**three**_** assignments, so please cut me some slack.**

**YoukaiSoraYume**, initially I had thought of letting the plane take a route that was above more land, and therefore the plane would have crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. However, your suggestion actually sounded better. There would definitely be a higher chance for the plane to crash into the sea if it had been traveling above the oceans all the way, so I've corrected the previous chapter and replaced it. Thanks for pointing it out. Really need to work on my geography. XD

**tennis no oujisama no oujosama**, for some reason, the link you've put up isn't working. It just said http://groups

**bellashade**, glad you liked the story. Thanks for your review.

**Milky Etoile**, lol! Wouldn't it be nice to be related to Fuji? All that good looks. All that brains…sigh…but yeah, then you can't marry him. XD . A fractured arm and leg…I don't think one month is enough to heal. I would think six or more, unless Ryoma's a distant relative of Wolverine.

**Thank you all for your reviews.**

To the story then…

**Echizen, Our Buchou**

By: Gwynhafra

Chapter 13

Right after the competitions had ended, the Seigaku members made their way to the hospital, intending to pay their captain a visit.

Entering Ward 13, they noticed that Ryoma was the only one in the room, as Tezuka was nowhere in sight.

Momoshiro went to Ryoma's bedside, looking down at the tightly closed eyes. Ryoma did not even move a finger. He just lay there, breathing faintly. It looked like Ryoma really hasn't regained consciousness yet.

"Echizen…we won the competition, as promised." He began. It always gave him a sense of calm to speak to his best friend, even if his best friend wasn't able to hear him.

Around him, the others lingered around the room. Most of them had solemn looks on their faces. While they were happy to have won the competitions, they were upset to see their captain still lying on his bed, unmoving.

Both Tsun and Itsuki's lips were turned down slightly, Katsuo and Kachiro looked like they were about to burst into tears, and Takahiro's face was blank (as usual). Kaidou stood at a corner of the room, hissing softly ever once in a while.

Momoshiro took it upon himself to narrate their games, and the others just stood there, listening. Absent-mindedly, he helped to smoothen out the creases in his best friend's bedcovers.

"If only you were there to see them, Echizen. Everyone did great today. You would have been proud of them." He said once he was done.

"Aa. I am." Someone replied.

Momoshiro nodded. "I knew you would be. Everyone…" he stopped in mid-sentence abruptly. Wait a minute…

Slowly, Momoshiro glanced down.

Echizen's eyes were open, and there was the usual cocky grin on his face.

"What? Aren't you going to continue, Momo-senpai?" he asked, sounding amused.

"Echizen!" "Buchou!" Happy cries filled the ward as everyone rushed forward. Momoshiro was pinching himself to see if he was dreaming, though Kaidou gave him a hand by punching him in the arm. Hard. Well, even if he had been dreaming, the pain was more than enough to wake him up.

"You're not dreaming, baka Momoshiro. Echizen is awake." Kaidou hissed, though there was the smallest hint of a smile on his face.

Momoshiro held on to his wounded arm. "That hurts…baka Mamushi! How dare you touch me! If you're so eager for a fight then let's take this outside."

"Fssshhh!" At least the Seigaku players' spirits were back.

"Mou. You two fighting in front of buchou right after he wakes. How childish!" Itsuki laughed, back to his happy-go-lucky self.

Echizen moved his left hand, testing the extent of his injuries. He touched his right arm, which was in a cast and frowned.

"Momo-senpai. How long was I out?" he asked.

"Slightly over 2 weeks. You really scared all of us there." Momoshiro replied, once more standing next to Ryoma's bed.

Ryoma closed his eyes. "I see. Momo-senpai. Help me sit up."

The vice-captain obeyed, helping the captain sit up on his bed. Ryoma could barely move, considering he had been lying down for such a long time, as his muscles had long gone to sleep.

Ryoma frowned once he was sitting up straight, propping his back against his pillows for support. "My whole body feels numb." He admitted, moving his left hand to give the limb some much-needed exercise.

He touched his right leg, which was in a cast as well, though the injuries weren't as serious as his right hand.

"You'll take some time to recover, Echizen. I would be highly surprise if you could move normally right after being immobile for such a long time." Momoshiro grinned.

They heard a gasp in the doorway. Momoshiro spun around to find the Kanto High players all standing there, the same disbelieving look on all their faces.

"Echizen!" Oishi was the first one of the seniors to speak up.

Well, Kikumaru was the first of the seniors to move.

"Ochibi!" he lunged forward to glomp the junior high captain, and the next moment both Momoshiro and Kaidou had moved to block him.

"Eiji-senpai! He's still injured. It wouldn't do for you to hug him like that." Momoshiro gasped out.

Momoshiro grinned at the senior high students. Oishi, Kikumaru, Asakawa, Yamato, Kira, Atobe, Fuji and Inui were all here…wait a minute, there was someone missing.

"Ne, ne ochibi. Do you remember anything about that accident?" Kikumaru asked curiously.

"Eiji! Don't ask about something like that!" Oishi immediately reprimanded his doubles partner.

Ryoma had a confused look on his face. "What accident?" he asked.

Everyone went silent at that.

"Echizen…what was the last thing you remembered?" Fuji asked slowly.

Ryoma searched his memories, ignoring the slight pounding in his head. He remembered going over to Atobe's mansion to train the seniors. He remembered walking to Kawamura Sushi. He remembered that car heading for Kunimitsu, and him rushing to push away the K-High captain. Kunimitsu…

"Where's buchou?" he asked, suddenly realizing that he could not sense his boyfriend's presence in the room.

There was a slightly panicky expression on his usually blank face. "Don't tell me…did I fail…?"

"Calm down, Echizen. You saved him that day, and you were hit by that car." Fuji reassured him.

Ryoma sank back against his pillows, looking relieved. "Thank goodness."

He tried to rack his brains, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recall what had happened after he had pushed Kunimitsu away. Was he really hit by the car? He couldn't remember…

"Tezuka is having his well needed rest. He hasn't been sleeping much for days, since he was a regular visitor here." Atobe spoke up, rephrasing his words so that the Seigaku members would not be able to catch what he actually meant.

Ryoma smiled. "I see."

"Regular visitor? Is Tezuka-buchou injured as well?" Kachiro asked, and all the Kanto High players avoided his questioning gaze.

"Please excuse us a while. We have to go visit someone else." Fuji smiled. Atobe led both him and Oishi out of the room.

Yamato threw a glance at his watch. "Ah gomen. Kira and I would have to take our leave now. Good to see that you're all right, Echizen-kun. Take care." Yamato smiled at the prodigy.

"Usu." Ryoma replied. With that, Yamato and Kira left the room too.

The rest of them crowded round Ryoma's bedside. Both Kikumaru and Momoshiro were sitting on the edge of the bed, Kikumaru patting Ryoma's shoulder (he couldn't pat Ryoma's head as it was bandaged), and Momoshiro was making sure that the acrobatic player would not suddenly grab Ryoma in a bear hug out of habit.

"Momo-senpai, the Kanto Tournaments are in July right?" Ryoma asked suddenly.

"Aa." Momoshiro affirmed with a nod of his head. He watched as Ryoma had touched his right arm again.

"Don't force yourself, Echizen. Leave the club to me. I will look after Seigaku while you recover." Momoshiro seemed to have read Ryoma's mind.

"I will try to make it back in time for the state levels." Ryoma said stubbornly.

Momoshiro frowned. "Baka." His tone was both mildly scolding and amused. "You can't recover that fast, even if you're young. Try to make it in time for the Nationals instead. We will definitely make it, so return to us only after you're fully recovered."

Ryoma frowned slightly. He finally gave in. "Usu."

"Tezuka-buchou!" Katsuo suddenly called out.

Momoshiro and Kikumaru got to their feet. "Tezuka-buchou." They greeted.

Tezuka's expression was unreadable, as always, though there was something blazing in his eyes. The Kanto High captain walked over to Ryoma's bed.

"Buchou…" Ryoma said softly. The rest of his words were unspoken, since Tezuka had bent over and kissed him.

The room had gone deathly quiet. Momoshiro had gotten a full view of the public display of affection between these two men, since he had been right next to Ryoma's bed when it happened, and now the dunk smash player had gone into a fit of coughing, for he was caught unprepared for this.

"FSSSSHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" Kaidou was so shocked that he was hissing in a single, unbroken breath, sounding like a slowly deflating balloon.

After what felt like ages, the two finally broke apart. "Sorry to worry you, buchou." Ryoma said, giving Tezuka a faint smile.

The second surprise came for everyone as Tezuka actually smiled in return, and Momoshiro noticed Katsuo and Kachiro shuddering from the corner of his eyes.

"At least you came back." Was Tezuka's reply.

Ryoma's face turned faintly red. "Well…if you're doing that here…I can assume that everyone knows about us already."

Momoshiro cleared his throat. "Actually they found out just five minutes ago. I was the only one who knew."

Kaidou was still hissing like leaking gas, Katsuo and Kachiro's jaws were hanging open, Tsun merely smiled, Itsuki gave a low whistle, and Takahiro gave a blank stare.

"That's all there is to it, Kaidou-kun." Inui suddenly put one hand on Kaidou's shoulder. He leaned over to Kaidou's ear. "According to my data, you're going to die from lack of air in another 2 minutes if you continue on hissing like that. Close your mouth."

"Hiieee!!!" Kaidou sprang away from Inui, all the hairs on his arms standing from the close proximity with another man.

Already his homophobic brain was going haywire. 'Gays! Gays! Gays! There are gays! Anyone here could be gay! Gah! Maybe everyone here is gay!'

"Hmm…Seigaku's two fiercest rivals are more alike than I had thought. Ii data." Inui muttered, scribbling in his notebook.

"Don't say it like that, Inui-senpai! That's creepy." Now it was Momshiro's turn to shudder.

He cast a glance at the remaining Seigaku members. "So, what about the rest of you? Homophobic as well?" he asked.

Tsun shook his head. "Gender does not matter to me." He said.

Itsuki was looking mildly entertained. "Echizen-buchou actually has a boyfriend. Who would have known?"

"I knew a long time ago." Takahiro said quietly, and the next moment Itsuki had him in a bear hug.

"Eh? Haruka-chan, you knew? Then why didn't you tell onii-chan about it? Momo fuku- buchou is mean too. He didn't say a word about this even though he knew." Itsuki complained.

"If I have to tell you about everything I know, I would die from dehydration even before I'm done. By the way, you're NOT my onii-chan." Takahiro scowled.

Inui scribbled in his notebook for a while before turning to the two sophomore doubles players.

"What about you two? Scared?"

Katsuo and Kachiro shook their heads. "We were just surprised. Tezuka-buchou and Echizen-buchou…we really never thought that was possible."

"He's actually capable of liking someone?" Katsuo asked absent-mindedly. The next moment he had a pillow in his face, courtesy of the Seigaku captain's left hand.

Momoshiro cleared his throat to get all their attention before walking over to Ryoma. "Echizen. I almost forgot. We wanted to give this to you."

He held out the gold medal from the district competitions.

Ryoma closed his eyes briefly, a bitter smile on his face. "Too bad I can't see it." He said quietly.

"It's 'couldn't see it', not 'can't see it'. You have a lot of catching up to do for your Japanese lessons. Echizen, even though you were not with us, we were able to win as your spirit was still guiding us. Please take this, Echizen."

He held out the medal, and Ryoma reached out for it with his good hand. Somehow, he fumbled when he tried to take it, and it fell to the bed with a soft thump.

Ryoma tensed, the bitter smile on his face now fixed.

"Don't mind, don't mind ochibi. Here." Kikumaru took the medal and dropped it into his hand.

"Ryoma…your eyes…" Tezuka spoke up uncertainly.

Ryoma could feel the cool medal in his hands, and a hint of a smile came upon his face. He faced Momoshiro. "There is nothing wrong with my Japanese. I can't see it, Momo-senpai. I'm blind."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"_I'm blind._"

The impact was still powerful on all of the Seigaku regulars, even after they had long left the hospital.

Momoshiro was the one most affected, as right after Ryoma had said that, he requested for all of the other regulars to leave save for his vice-captain, as he wished to speak to him in private.

::Flashback::

_Momoshiro sat next to his best friend's bed, looking away from Ryoma's eyes, not wishing to see its sightless stare._

"_Momo-senpai. I have no idea if I would ever recover from this…or if I'll ever be able to play tennis again. But I will not give up without a fight." Ryoma's voice was strong._

_Momoshiro smiled slightly. Had it been anyone else, that person would most likely have gone into a whole bout of depression and self-hate if they knew they were handicapped. Not Ryoma though. He was stronger than most people give him credit for._

"_If truly I'm not able to regain my sight, then I'll just have to train to play without seeing."_

"_Mou…Echizen. Haven't I said not to spout such nonsense? It's bad luck! You can't say that, you can't." Momoshiro tried to make a lighthearted comment._

_Echizen smiled slightly. "I suppose. Ne, Momo-senpai. I'm glad to have you as my vice-captain. Even with my absence, you have managed the club wonderfully."_

_There was something in Ryoma's tone that made Momoshiro uncomfortable. Ryoma's sightless eyes were turned to him, and he squirmed in his seat._

"_Momo-senpai…I'll be leaving the club to you." The captain finally said._

_Momoshiro knew that was coming, a sign that the captain would be leaving them, maybe for a long time._

"_Hai. Echizen." He gave his word._

_Ryoma smiled faintly. "Please leave me alone a while, Momo-senpai. You've all just had a tiring day today. It would be good to lead all the members back to school."_

_Momoshiro understood, giving a bow to both Echizen and Tezuka. The latter had been the only one aside from Momoshiro to remain in the room, and he hadn't spoken a word, keeping his silence to allow the Seigaku captain and vice-captain to speak._

"_You must recover, Echizen. Not just for the sake of Seigaku, but for my sake as well. It's no fun going out for hamburgers alone."_

_At that, Ryoma genuinely grinned. "You're right, Momo-senpai. I miss having you buy all my burgers."_

_Momoshiro left the room, snorting 'miser' under his breath. Right before he closed the door, he noticed Ryoma holding Tezuka's hand._

'_Echizen will be fine. After all, the best cure is just next to him.' Momoshiro thought, feeling more reassured as he led everyone back to school._

::End of Flashback::

After that, life went on as usual for all the Seigaku members. Momoshiro now realized just what Echizen had to do when he was captain.

"Eh? I have to stay until that late?!" Momoshiro wailed.

Inui merely gave him a stare. "Of course. Perhaps you're not aware of this, but Echizen was always the last one to leave. He was the one who had to supervise the first years in charge of handling all the equipments. He was the one who locked up the clubroom after making sure everyone has left, and he was the one who had to prepare a report every time after practice. He was also the one who drove away the spies from the other clubs…well…I helped out with that, but that's beside the point."

Inui leaned closer, and his glasses glinted. "I look forward to your leadership, Momo buchou-dai. Mind, I would be giving my report of your performance to Echizen by the end of every week, and if he's not satisfied with your management of the club, I suppose he might let you try out my deluxe-remix hyper spicy Aozu Version 10.9." Inui was rubbing his hands in glee, and Momoshiro wisely decided not to ask about the juice's ingredients.

'That Echizen…he collaborated with Inui behind my back. That little devil…" Momoshiro had the crazy urge to run all the way to the hospital and have that demon in a headlock.

"I'm not going to volunteer as your test subject, Inui-senpai. You can drink that yourself. Don't worry. The club will be just fine." Momoshiro plastered his brightest smile on his face.

'Gomen, Ann-chan. Looks like our dates would be cut short.' The dunk smash player secretly mourned for all the time he could have spent with his girlfriend.

Surely enough, Momoshiro took extra care to make sure Inui would not be able to write anything nasty in that 'report' of his.

"First years! Your pace is all messed up! Start over!" Momoshiro ordered.

"Hai! One! Two! Three…" They could see stress lines all over the temporary captain's forehead, and did their part by not provoking him.

"Momoshiro buchou-dai…this court looks rather messy." Inui suddenly spoke up.

The dunk smash player gave a yelp. Apparently one of the second years had knocked one of the carts over, and now tennis balls were strewn all over the floor.

"20 laps!" Momoshiro managed to gasp out; picking up the tennis balls himself so fast that Inui did not manage to write anything in that notebook of his yet.

"Momoshiro buchou-dai, this net looks like it's going to fall off." Inui had trouble hiding a grin as the third year rushed to fix the net.

'My data never lies. It really is easy to trick Seigaku's trickster.' Inui thought as he adjusted his glasses. He had conveniently twisted Echizen's actual instructions.

"_Inui-senpai. Please keep an eye on Seigaku for me. Also, watch over Momo-senpai's management of the club. I'll leave it to you to train the regulars…though…try not to do anything drastic with those inventions of yours. I'll need all my regulars alive since I can't play._"

Echizen had said 'try not to' use those inventions, but he had not placed a complete ban now, had he?

"Hmm…Momoshiro's reflexes have increased by 14 percent. My training is working after all." Inui muttered while jotting down in his notebook, noting that Momoshiro was able to run from one end of court A to the other end of Court D in record time, checking on the conditions of the courts and nets.

He threw a glance at all the other regulars. Tsun and Itsuki were having a match with Katsuo and Kachiro, and both sides were fighting fiercely, not wishing to have anything to do with the huge barrel sitting on the bench. Inui had conveniently marked the barrel with a little skull symbol.

"Partnership and coordination has improved by 5 percent. Hmm…I would need to increase this a bit." Inui placed a bright red cake right next to the barrel, and both doubles began playing like madmen. "Hmm…improvement has increased to 20 percent. That's much better."

Takahiro and Kaidou played against each other. Inui was training both Kaidou and Takahiro's reflexes, especially Takahiro, whose reflexes couldn't keep up with his quick mind.

"Takahiro-kun, Kaidou-kun. You're to wear these now." He had increased the power ankles and wrists weights to 20.

"Fsshhh…" Kaidou quickened his pace. He wanted to be done with this crazy training as soon as possible.

"I pity Momo-chan buchou-dai. Having to take over all of Echizen-buchou's duties." Kachiro chanced a glance at the poor dunk smash third year, who was now rushing to get his report done.

"Thank you for your hard work, Momoshiro buchou-dai." Inui said after practice had ended and Momoshiro had locked up the clubroom once everyone had left.

"I don't remember Echizen ever having to work this hard." Momoshiro grumbled.

Inui continued writing in his notebook. "You're absolutely right. You're doing triple the work he usually does." 'Because you need more training on your reflexes.' Inui added mentally.

Momoshiro's jaw dropped. "Triple the work…then all that running around…"

"Ii data." Inui grinned.

Momoshiro seemed to have finally perfected Kawamura's burning mode, as his eyes blazed. "Inui-senpai…"

"I was only doing that for your own good. By the way, Fudoumine would like to join us for training one of these days. What do you think of that?"

"Why ask me, you shadow king?" Momoshiro huffed.

Inui cocked his head to one side. "Oh? You're the temporary captain, aren't you? You're the one making all the decisions."

'Oh. That's right.' Momoshiro remembered.

"Fine, fine. Make an arrangement with them to join us sometime in May." Momoshiro waved a hand impatiently. His Ann-chan should be waiting for him by now.

Inui merely gave him an innocent smile. "No. _You're_ to make the arrangements. Momoshiro buchou-dai. Oh, and call them tonight. It would be best if you do not keep them waiting. I would be writing this in the report. You know what to expect if Echizen's not happy." Inui's glasses glinted evilly.

"WHAT?!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Ryoma-buchou. Here are the notes for last week." Katsuo and Kachiro said as they paid Ryoma a weekly visit, as usual.

Ryoma nodded at the both of them. "Doomo." He muttered, taking the book with his good hand. He couldn't read them, of course, but his mother would be dropping by later, and she could read it out to him.

(A/N: Doomo—Thank you)

"Our teachers really are wondering about how you're doing. Also, Mr Yoruichi seems to be missing your presence."

Ryoma wondered about that. Yoruichi-sensei was his English teacher, and it was a miracle the teacher had said that, considering that Ryoma almost never paid attention in any of his English classes, and 90 percent of the times he threw sarcastic remarks at the teacher.

Ryoma set the book down beside him. "How's the club?" he asked. While Inui gave him a more detailed report, it tended to put him to sleep with all that statistics and calculations. In the last report Inui gave him, he knew that Inui was training the regulars, though he would prefer not to know what method the data master was using. Also, he knew that Momoshiro had taken over his duties, and by how Inui reported to him, he seemed to be doing a good job.

"Ah…eto…about that…" Katsuo began.

"Please come back to us as soon as possible, Ryoma-buchou. The club will die from Inui-senpai's Golden-Deluxe-Hyper-Remix-Special overdose if this continues!" Kachiro wailed.

Ryoma had a slow smile on his face. "Hmm? Isn't that good then? Inui's inventions are always healthy."

"Also, Inui is working Momo-chan buchou-dai to death at this rate." Katsuo added.

Ryoma had already deduced from the report Inui gave him that this was merely Inui's training for Momoshiro. Trust the data master to come up with such training.

"I have no problem with that. He has to take over all my workload after all." Ryoma gave a cocky grin.

'Oni buchou…' Both sophomores thought simultaneously.

There was a pause as Ryoma reached for a glass of water, and his two teammates hurried to help him.

"By the way, Ryoma-buchou…where is Tezuka-buchou?"

XXX

Sakuno was heading towards the hospital after school, wanting to see how Ryoma was doing.

She looked down at the bunch of flowers in her hands. Would he like them? From what the others told him, Ryoma was blind now, so he would not be able to see these flowers anyway.

As the hospital came into view, Sakuno couldn't help remembering the confession she made some time before the district tournaments.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

"_What is it, Sakuno?" Ryoma asked as she had stopped abruptly during their practice._

_Tezuka, who was counting the scores, had a slight frown on his face. Sakuno had a feeling it was because of the way she was behaving now, shuffling her feet and fidgeting nervously._

"_Anou…Ryoma-kun…this is for you." She gave him one of those amulets she had just gotten from the shrine yesterday._

_Ryoma took it, studying it curiously._

"_It's a good luck charm. The competitions are coming up after all." She explained._

_Ryoma nodded. "Doomo." He kept the charm._

_Mustering up her courage, Sakuno took a deep breath and…_

"_IreallylikeyouRyomakunpleasegooutwithme!"_

_Ryoma blinked. "Haa?" he obviously could not catch what she had said._

_Sakuno's courage was already gone, and she couldn't seem to say it again. Tezuka was the one who spoke up._

"_She likes you, Echizen." There was no change to the senior high captain's expression, but somehow, her senses told her that Tezuka had become a little stiff, though she did not know why._

_Ryoma blinked at her. After a while, he asked tentatively. "You…like me?"_

"_Hai." She admitted, blushing. There. She had told him about her feelings. She looked up to see him giving her the faintest hint of a smile._

"_Don't worry. I like you too. You're a good friend." Ryoma reassured._

_Tezuka gave a cough behind Ryoma, and Sakuno thought she saw the Kanto High captain's lips twitch upwards ever so slightly. _

"_Ryoma-kun. I didn't mean that kind of like. I mean…I like you as more than a friend." Sakuno tried again._

"_Ah. Best friends. I understand. I like Momo-senpai as a best friend too, but I don't mind it if you take me as your best friend…wait…I thought Tomoka's your best friend."_

_Sakuno deflated. How should she say this…?_

_She noticed Tezuka leaning over to speak to Ryoma softly, and moments later, Ryoma's eyes widened._

"_Eh? You like me that way?" Whatever explanation it was that Tezuka had given Ryoma, at least it went through his head this time._

_Sakuno nodded._

_Ryoma adjusted his cap, now looking rather awkward. "Since…when?"_

_Just as she had thought. He never noticed her feelings for him after all._

"_Since last year…after you helped me in the train…the first time we met."_

_Ryoma frowned. After a while, he shook his head. _

"_Gomen, Sakuno. I only like you as a friend. No more than that."_

_Sakuno felt her feelings crumble. Well, this was just like Ryoma, straight to the point, with no honey coating to his words._

"_I understand." She had been somewhat prepared for this. Ryoma had never shown any indications that he might have feelings for her after all._

_Ryoma studied her a while, looking rather uncertain as to what he should do._

_Sakuno decided to help him with his dilemma, as she had given him a grin. "Don't think too much about it. I just needed to get that out of my chest. I'm glad that at least, you do see me as a friend to give such an honest answer. Thank you, Ryoma-kun."_

_Well, she had tried to be strong about it, but hours later, she couldn't stop the tears from falling as she cried under her favourite tree in the park._

_Once she had let all her sadness out, she sat there, trying to recompose herself before returning home. Her grandmother would be worried if she saw her like this._

"_Sakuno-chan?" A voice asked._

_Looking up, she found Fuji Shuusuke right before her._

"_Fuji-senpai…what are you doing here?" she tried to smile._

"_I was using a shortcut through the park when I saw you here…you've been crying?" There was no fooling the tensai's eyes._

_Somehow, the tears she had been trying to hold back had begun flowing again, and she told Fuji everything._

_Fuji patted her on the back as she spoke, trying to calm her down. "I'm glad that he was honest, so it's alright." She finally said, feeling much better now that she had told someone about it._

_Fuji nodded. "Echizen is that kind of person." He handed her a tissue to wipe her eyes._

_The tensai allowed her some time to recover before speaking up again. "Actually, Sakuno. I think it is only fair if I tell you this. The truth is, Echizen is already dating someone."_

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Sakuno gave a sigh as she made her way to Ward 13. Fuji never told her whom was Ryoma dating, and Sakuno had been too surprised to ask.

She noticed the door open, and could hear voices in the room. Looked like there were visitors in there already.

"By the way, Ryoma-buchou…where is Tezuka-buchou?" Kachiro's voice was the first to reach her ears.

"I've asked him not to come over anymore." The speaker was Ryoma this time.

"Eh? Why?" Kachiro asked, sounding surprised.

Ryoma snorted. "He's been coming here too often. He needs to concentrate on his studies. It wouldn't do him good to waste his time here."

"I don't think Tezuka-buchou would call that time wasting. He cares for you, Ryoma-buchou." Katsuo protested.

Ryoma gave a sigh. "I know." There was a fond edge to his tone.

"I'm impressed though. You're dating Tezuka-buchou for that long already and none of us knew until now." Kachiro teased.

Ryoma gave a slight scowl. "I would prefer it if you do not talk about that. My private life is not for discussion."

Sakuno had given a gasp at Kachiro's words, and the flowers she held in her hands fell to the floor with a soft rustle.

Ryoma obviously heard her. "Who's there?" He demanded.

Katsuo and Kachiro spotted her and hurried to silence her. "Sakuno-chan… onegai… whatever you do, don't breathe a word about this to Tomoka-chan or Horio-kun." They whispered.

Sakuno was still gaping at Ryoma, who was sitting quietly on his bed.

"Ryoma-kun…and Tezuka-buchou?" she asked faintly.

Kachiro patted her on the shoulder. "Yeah. That was our reaction too when we first found out."

Sakuno's eyes had gone extremely wide. Ryoma...with Tezuka? That was why he had rejected her? The next moment, her eyes rolled up into her head as she passed out.

"Sakuno-chan!"

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

"So…you're really with Tezuka-buchou?" Sakuno asked. She had regained consciousness some time ago and now she was speaking to Ryoma alone, while Katsuo and Kachiro waited outside the door.

"Yes." Ryoma's answer was short. He looked mildly weary. That was why he wanted to keep his relationship with Kunimitsu private, as he wished to avoid all the questions that would follow later. Answering questions was something he found to be extremely troublesome, as it required a lot of explaining, and Ryoma hated to speak.

"Since when?" How often was this question brought up already? He had lost count.

"Last year. During the holidays." It was a good thing Sakuno was considered as one of his close friends, or he would have chased her out of the room already.

Silence descended between the two. Sakuno was still trying to process the information in her mind, and was wondering how she should continue the conversation. Ryoma on the other hand was enjoying the silence.

"Well…I'm…happy for you, Ryoma-kun." She finally said. While she was still sad that she had been rejected, she took consolation over the fact that at least Ryoma was happy.

"Doomo." Ryoma had given her one of his rare, non-arrogant smiles.

She got back to her feet. "I'll be leaving now, Ryoma-kun. Please rest well." She said, giving a slight bow before leaving.

Once she was out of the room, she gave a sigh. It definitely would take her some time to get over Ryoma, but she knew how much the Kanto High captain meant to the Seigaku captain. She could sense that by Ryoma's tone when he spoke of Tezuka.

'Alright. Be strong, Sakuno.' She told herself, making her way back home.

Her current focus now was to keep this news away from her best friend.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Some time in the middle of May 

"Good to see that you could make it, Momoshiro buchou-dai." Kamio shook Momoshiro's hand as the two clubs met up for practice.

"Nice to see all of you again too. Thank you for inviting us to practice with you." Momoshiro returned the Fudoumine captain's greeting.

Kamio gave a disapproving sniff. "It wasn't _me_ who had suggested for this practice session."

Momoshiro blinked. "Eh? Then who…?"

"Takeshi!" The dunk smash player's eyes lit up at the sight of his girlfriend running over to him.

"Ann-chan! So it was you who had suggested to this?" Momoshiro grinned as Ann flew into his welcoming arms.

"Hai!" she chirped happily.

Momoshiro beamed at her. "That's just like you, dear Ann-chan."

Kamio was twitching quite violently. Momoshiro loved attracting attention to himself, so it was no surprise that he was putting up such a show with Tachibana's poor, innocent little sister. "Ann-chan…I really don't know what you see in this bike-thief. If only Tachibana-san were here…"

Ann frowned. "Onii-chan has nothing against Takeshi."

Momoshiro wasn't too sure about that. Tachibana did keep a sharp eye on him if Momoshiro ever went to pick up Ann-chan from her house. Well, Tachibana was hardly home anyway, since his high school was all the way in the Kyuushu region, so Momoshiro wasn't too worried.

"Well I do have something against him, perverted bike-thief!" Kamio sulked.

"I'm not a bike thief! I only borrowed it a while to chase that thief!" Momoshiro protested.

"You took that bike without asking me first, and you spoilt it. You're definitely a bike-thief!" Kamio stubbornly insisted.

Fortunately, Fudoumine's vice-captain came to the rescue……sort of.

"Can we get on with practice? We're wasting time here, and do you know time is precious. Already we waste a lot of time by sleeping and eating, so we don't have enough time left for practice. Speaking of eating, do you know I had some salmon with wasabi yesterday, and it's making my stomach feel unwell, so I might not be able to play well today. Are we going to start playing already? Or are you going to argue over Tachibana's little sister? How nice. Ann-chan has so many people fighting over her…"

"Let's start practice!" Momoshiro cut off Shinji before he could continue on.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Seigaku and Fudoumine regulars soon started practice in the courts available. Momoshiro and Kaidou found themselves playing doubles against Fudoumine's captain and vice-captain.

"Looks like I finally get to play against you this round. How upsetting, the last time I was not able to play against you because Seigaku won. We will win the next time so don't get too arrogant. Why do you all keep winning anyway? It's not fair." Ibu was already mumbling non-stop even as he got into position.

"Shinji. I'm going to start serving soon." Kamio warned.

"Don't get in my way, Momoshiro." Kaidou hissed, swaying from side to side slightly.

"What did you say, Mamushi? You can't talk to the temporary captain this way, you can't. I could give you laps once we go back to school, you know." Momoshiro was already finding his new position to be extremely useful.

"Fsshhh! I would never acknowledge you as captain, baka Momoshiro!"

The next moment a ball had shot past between them.

"Takeshi! Concentrate on the game!" Ann called out from the sides.

"Hai." Momoshiro glared at Kamio for making him look bad before Ann.

Kamio's Sonic Bullet has upgraded, making it so fast that both Momoshiro and Kaidou were having trouble with trying to even spot it, let alone return it.

"I'm in the rhythm." Kamio grinned, deliberately firing a shot between the two and causing the archenemies to collide, sparking yet another war between the Seigaku temporary captain and snake shot player. It was a good thing that Tachibana Ann had then managed to break up the fight, so that they could return to the game.

"That's right, Kamio. Hit it between those two. It's a good thing they're fighting. It gives us an advantage over them." Ibu said as he continued playing.

"Oh be quiet!" Momoshiro snapped, returning all of Shinji's shots. That was, until his muscles had seized up momentarily, and he did not manage to return the next ball.

"What's wrong? Can't move your arm? I can hear your muscles screaming. You would not be able to fight that even if you wish to." Shinji muttered.

Ibu seemed to prefer using the 'Spot' on Momoshiro, who wasn't as adept at nullifying the top spins as compared to Kaidou.

As Momoshiro's arm froze up again, it was Kaidou who returned the shot.

"Don't kid with me! Boomerang Hadoukyu!" Kaidou used his around-the-pole power shot.

The next moment, Kamio had already reached the ball. He had been running at such a high speed that his momentum was enough to nullify Kaidou's power shot, returning the ball easily to the two of them.

"Don't bother trying to use that on me. I've been training for the day I fight against you again, Kaidou-kun. A pity I did not manage to face you during the preliminaries. What's wrong with the two of you? Are you two really National level players? You can't win the Kantou Games with this level." Kamio smirked.

The next moment, it was Momoshiro who had fired the Boomerang Snake.

"Eh?" That caught Kamio off guard, and the Seigaku players scored.

"Don't use my move, baka Momoshiro." Kaidou warned.

Momoshiro merely tapped his racket against one shoulder. "Are? Were you saying something, Mamushi? Looks like I can use that shot better than you can."

"I forgot this is doubles. Spot won't work here, as the other player can return the shot even if the first player couldn't. Sorry, Kamio. It's my entire fault."

Kamio held up a hand weakly to try to ward off his doubles partner's mumbling. "I'm not blaming you, Shinji. Calm down."

In the next round, Kaidou had used the Dunk Smash against Kamio.

"Oi! Now who's copying whose skill?" Needless to say, Momoshiro wasn't happy.

"How are they using each other's signature shots?" Kamio wondered aloud.

"Tachibana told us before, during the Nationals they had impersonated each other to confuse the opponents. They had been rivals for such a long time that they knew each other well enough to copy the moves. How nice…until now I can't use the Sonic Bullet. It's so unfair…" Shinji had begun mumbling again.

"That's because you can't run as fast as me, Shinji." Kamio pointed out, and the next moment the blue-haired vice-captain was looking at the captain unhappily.

"I know I'm a snail compared to you. You do not have to point that out. No, I'm most likely an earthworm compared to you. Go on. Rub it in. I can accept that insult. It's a fact after all…"

"I think that's enough for today's practice…" Ann sighed at seeing that there was no way this match could continue. Currently, Kaidou and Momoshiro were seizing each other by the shirt, while Kamio was desperately trying to stop Ibu from mumbling, and failing miserably.

As for the other Seigaku and Fudoumine regulars…well…they found it more interesting to watch the drama between the captains, so they had long stopped practice.

"They really can't work together after all." Kachiro laughed weakly.

"Aa. I think so far, Kaidou-senpai plays doubles best only if it's with Inui-senpai, since Inui-senpai would let Kaidou-senpai do all the playing while he collects his data." Katsuo recalled.

"_Did you call me?_" Both Kachiro and Katsuo shivered at the feeling of doom behind them. They could also feel someone breathing down their necks.

"Inui-senpai! Don't do that!" The two meeks sophomores clutched at their poor hearts, skittering away to hide behind Tsun and Itsuki.

Inui gave an evil laugh, and while the Fudoumine players didn't know him that well, it sent a shudder through all of them anyway.

"So sorry. I was looking for the buchou-dai, so I came here. Momoshiro. Here's a message from Echizen." Inui held out a piece of paper.

"From Echizen?" Momoshiro had snatched it from the data master, hurriedly reading it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Momoshiro,**

**I am leaving Seigaku.**

**-Echizen**

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Anou…Momo-senpai…are you alright?" Katsuo asked uncertainly. Momoshiro was wearing an expression on his face that was similar to one being clobbered by a frying pan.

"Echizen…is leaving Seigaku?" Momoshiro asked weakly, and Inui nodded.

Jaws dropped, even for the Fudoumine members. Ibu had begun another round of muttering again.

"I'm going to go look for that guy!" Momoshiro started to sprint.

"Momoshiro buchou-dai! By the time you get to the hospital, he would already be gone." Inui called after him calmly.

Momoshiro skidded to a halt, turned back, and sprinted back to Inui.

"Just tell us already! What on earth is Echizen talking about and where's he going?" Momoshiro snapped, not liking how Inui could still look so calm.

Inui adjusted his glasses. "He has gone to Kyuushu."

To be continued…

A/N: Christopher Columbus…finally I'm done with this…I definitely need a break… (Collapses)

So sorry for the late update this round. I'm under a lot of stress now from all the assignments. Three freaking assignments to hand in, and I still have one left. GAH! (tears at hair)

**TezFan**, while I'm flattered that you like my story, your language is rather… rough. Gomen for the late update.

I've put a few fanservice in there. (Namely Inui/Kaidou, Kamio/Ibu) Good luck trying to spot them.

Also, there is a chance that I might be pairing up **Fuji** with **Sakuno**. Should I? Should I not? Please give your opinion for this. Whatever the suggestions are, Fuji would not be dating anyone just yet until the sequel.

Alright. Now to deal with the other story.

**Please Read and Review. No flames please.**

-Gwyn


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. I can only dream about Tezuka and Echizen, but I do not own them. Sigh…**

**Warning: Contain spoilers for the latest manga chapters. Shonen-ai fic.**

**Pairings: Tezuka X Echizen. Momoshiro X Ann.**

**(This chapter is followed by chapter 16 in Life After Seigaku)**

A/N: I am challenging myself to write one whole chapter where there would be no physical interaction between Tezuka and Echizen, cause I've reread the previous chapters and realized I've been making them too mushy with each other. I just love to bully those two boyfriends now, don't I? Ufufufufu… (Flashbacks don't count! This chapter might have more fluff than the previous chapter though. Thx to the flashbacks.)

I think a lot of romance story-lovers are going to stone me for this.

By popular demand, Fuji would **not** be paired up with Sakuno. I think I've killed a few of you just be suggesting it. XD . Also, by request of my cousin and my pal, I've decided to let Sakuno marry Kawamura in the sequel. Since they're both the shy, gentle type, I think they would suit each other. Fuji would go with an OC, though she would only be a minor character, so you don't have to worry too much.

That's all the spoilers for now. Geh…why am I thinking that far when I still have a long way to go before the sequel…

**Ohtori Choutarou**, (goes into a coughing fit) _Beautiful_ buchou? I can imagine that word used for Ryoma, but for Tezuka…I think I fried my brain trying to picture that. XD

**distant reminiscence**, hmm…to be honest more often than not I am actually forcing myself to sit before the PC and type, or I would not be able to update so frequently. Reviews serve as a boost for my updates. Nowadays it is getting harder though, with assignments and all.

**Animestar73**, saa…about whether or not the two PA systems on legs would find out about Tezuka and Echizen…Ufufufufu…not telling.

**Sakura Moon**, lol. Actually, if Tezuka had lost the votes in the beginning of the story (and if this story had ended up Ryoma X Sakuno), then it would have been one-sided Tezuka X Echizen.

**mimikitty**, don't worry. I'm not bored of it at all. Hmm…I've had tests as well. Got the highest in class for editing. Yay!

**Mad Mardigan**, hmm…Horio X Tomoka equals Annoying Pair…hey…you've actually helped to give me an idea for the sequel. Thx a lot! Fuji X Nanako…O.o . The horror…even if they both are so beautiful…I can't really picture that pairing.

**merissala**, lol. yeah, I think Momoshiro/Kaidou pair could actually rival against Inui/Kaidou pair, though maybe not yet up to the Golden Pair's level yet. They were rivals for such a long time they actually knew each other well, making them extremely powerful when paired up. I was laughing when one of the gay pair they were fighting went and touched Kaidou's butt. Poor Mamushi. Sad to hear you're not going to download from the forum. I've just put up the latest chapter for POT, chapter 337. Echizen VS Kintarou single point match. Just one point, and they're still fighting up till now. I think by the time it's done, it would be almost like a one-set match instead. I have a feeling Ryoma would not be able to win. (which would contradict my story :p)

**Milky Etoile**, nah. He won't be choosing the next pillar of Seigaku. Not even when this fic ends, coz he'll have to choose amongst a first year or a first year in the coming year…am I confusing you? The story would really become complicated if I add in how he picked the next pillar and why did he do so.

**Lady Silverhawk**, gomen, would only insert humour sparingly. Now I would have to concentrate on the main plot, which would be quite angsty at parts, but not so much.

**KiriharaAkaya**, lol. I haven't heard how Fuji sounded like with an English dub. Is it really that bad? Yeah…I'm bad with summary, unless you count academic writing. Tezuka is secretly 30. lol. Don't worry, even if it's child molestation, I would make sure he doesn't become a pedophile. All my characters will remain celibate until my sequel. XD

**Kurai-hoshi5**, ah well, considering how Tezuka was feeling a mix of worry and fear at that time, I'm not surprised that his usually good self-control had snapped. Besides, that kiss could be considered fanservice. No?

**TheOnlyItachi**, don't worry. I think 90 percent of those who read yaoi are actually straight. I'm straight, but I'm writing it. XD. Hmm…when I was still mildly homophobic, I could tolerate yaoi as I tend to switch one of the characters into a girl in my mind. Why not try picturing Ryoma as a girl? He could pass off as one, in my opinion.

**knighted lioness**, yeah. Sakuno was horrible in the anime. I tried to make her less horrible here. (since this fic is one year later, I'm sure her character might have improved, even if only a little)

**Kenna**, don't worry. Fuji will stay single till his late 20s, while the others would be happily married. Gah! I just can't resist giving spoilers!!! Someone stop me!

**NineTsuki-chan**, hmm…regionals. Will bear that in mind. Thanks for the info.

**Kawaii-Gaara-Chan**, there is a surgery that allows you to see again, but that is only if the problem lies with the eyes. For Ryoma's case, it is due to head injuries, so no, there is no surgery for this one.

**NE1410S**, yeah. It'd be sad if Tezuka can't see Ryoma's eyes sparkle again, but I don't think that will make him love Ryoma any less, so it should be quite a consolation for Ryoma.

One last thing. I would alternate between Kyuushu and Seigaku in this chapter, so as to provide the POV of Ryoma and the other Seigaku regulars. I hope it won't confuse all of you.

To the story then…

**Echizen, Our Buchou**

By: Gwynhafra

Chapter 14

"Echizen-san. We've reached Kyuushu…"

Ryoma stirred from his nap when his name was addressed. He put on a pair of dark glasses and sat up straighter. Next to him, a blonde man who was roughly his age was still dozing off, snoring slightly.

He was on a plane now- a private jet sponsored by the one and only Monkey King. As much as he hated to admit it, he was mildly grateful to that narcissist, since it did save him the trouble and cost for coming all the way here.

The young man next to him gave a sudden yelp as he jolted awake. Ryoma guessed that the flight attendant must have prodded the boy, who also happened to be Ryoma's temporary personal servant/bodyguard/guide, assigned by, again, the one and only Monkey King.

Ryoma frowned. Atobe was being unusually generous; it made Ryoma wonder just what was going on in the diva's mind. Inui had mentioned that it was Atobe's way of compensating for Ryoma's injuries, especially since it was his cousin who had mowed Ryoma down in the first place.

"Echizen-sama. It's time to get off the plane." His guide, Phillip said.

Wordlessly, Ryoma allowed himself to be led off the plane and followed his guide to a waiting limousine. He was then driven to the rehabilitation centre, which was about a 20 minutes drive away from the airport.

Getting off the limo, Ryoma's guide was quick to describe to him about the place, allowing the green-haired boy to have a better picture of it. A huge wide building with a lot of greenery surrounding it; it certainly had a good environment for recovering patients.

The whole entourage (Ryoma plus 1 guide and two bodyguards) stopped before the reception counter, where a nurse was seated.

"First time here?" She asked, and Ryoma nodded mutely.

"I see. Your name please."

"Echizen Ryoma." He could hear the soft shuffling of paper. She was probably going through a list.

"Ah. Here you are. Echizen-san. One of the staff will show you to your rooms. You would be requested to go for a checkup later, though that would be in around two hours. For now, you will have time to unpack in your room."

"Sankyuu." Ryoma was then marched off yet again, and knew that they had reached their destination when his guide stopped. "This is your room." The hospital staff who was leading them stated.

Phillip gave a low whistle. "This is definitely a place Atobe-sama would have booked. He's loaded anyway."

"What?" Ryoma, of course, could not see what he meant. Cautiously, the green-haired boy reached out a hand to touch the door. He could feel the words emblazoned there and traced it with his fingers.

"P-R-E-S-I-D-E-N-T-I-A-L-S-U-I-T-E"

"Is there such a room in a rehabilitation centre, or did Atobe build this on purpose to show off his wealth?" Ryoma shuddered, not at all liking the idea of being in Atobe's debt.

Phillip went into the room first, studying it a while before coming out of the room and guiding Ryoma in.

"I'll help you unpack, Echizen-sama." The blonde said cheerily. Ryoma gave a slight snort. This guy was reminding him severely of Kikumaru with his enthusiasm. He might be given a suffocating bear hug anytime soon, at this rate.

Ryoma took the opportunity to familiarize himself with his room. He walked slowly, occasionally extending an arm when he felt something in his path. He was still using crutches to move around, of course, and had managed to learn how to use it not just to walk, but also to check if there was anything blocking his way.

He made a mental map on where the closet was, where the desk was, where the bookcase was, and where that stupid pot of plant which had stubbed his toe was.

Finally, he found the bed after nearly 20 minutes of exploration, sitting down on the edge with a contented sigh. He could roughly guess how big the room was, considering how long it took for him to reach his bed from the door.

"I've put all your clothes in the cupboard, Echizen-sama. Also, I've unpacked all your toiletries. Now, where would you want me to hang this picture?"

"What picture?" Ryoma didn't recall packing any pictures in his travel bag.

"Hmm…it shows a bunch of people wearing blue and white uniforms." Phillip informed.

Ryoma thought about it for a while. "Oh. That's the group photo for my tennis club last year. How on earth did it end up in my bag…"

::Short flashback::

"_Ochibi! Ochibi! Come on now! We're about to take a group photo!" Kikumaru had given him yet another bear hug, dragging him over to where Fuji, Oishi and Kawamura stood._

"_Eiji-senpai…you're strangling me!" Ryoma protested._

_The acrobatic third-year merely grinned. "If I loosen my hold on you, you might try to escape. To think you would hate having your pictures taken. This would be our last memento of junior high school life, so come on, Ochibi."_

"_Yadda!" _

"_Minna! Hurry over here. We had better take the pictures quick or ochibi might escape anytime! Mou! Stop struggling already nya. Can someone help me out here?"_

_Momoshiro had gladly offered his hand. "You're our hero of the day for helping us win the Nationals. You can't run away eh, you can't."_

_Ryoma scowled, not liking the feeling of being restrained by both his crazy seniors. It was Inui, however, who made him stop trying to escape altogether. _

"_Anyone else who has something to say about taking a group photo, help yourself to my latest Ayashi-mizu."_

(A/N: Ayashi—suspicious. Did I spell it correctly?)

_With that, the third-year seniors stood at the back, with Tezuka in the centre of the group; while the Momoshiro, Kaidou, Ryoma and Eiji were before the group in a half-crouch._

"_Say cheese!" Arai, who was holding the camera instructed._

"_Cheese." Almost everyone called out, except Tezuka, who did not make a sound, his face frowning worse than ever; and Ryoma, who was saying "itai, itai, itai…" instead as both Kikumaru and Momoshiro stretched his cheeks, trying to force his mouth into a grin._

_The camera flashed._

::End of flashback::

Ryoma gave a powerful shudder. He really did not want to remember that day.

Phillip chuckled. "I see. I'll put this by your bedside then. Pretty interesting though. You've actually drawn a heart-shape around one of the members."

Ryoma froze. "Huh?"

"No? You've drawn a heart around this guy's head…hmm…he wears glasses, and is scowling like someone had offended him. "

"Don't insult him…" Ryoma responded without thinking. There was a frown on his face. He would never draw anything on his pictures. So if it wasn't him that could only mean…

"Baka Oyaji!" Ryoma's snarl echoed through the whole rehabilitation centre.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In Tokyo 

"Baka Echizen!" Momoshiro snarled for the umpteenth time that day, making all the members race faster around the courts.

"I don't think Momo-chan Buchou-dai has forgiven Echizen-buchou yet for giving him such a nasty scare…" Kachiro whispered.

"Echizen-buchou did not give us much of an explanation before vanishing, it's a no wonder Momo-chan buchou-dai wants to kill him." Katsuo whispered back.

::Flashback::

"_Inui-senpai! What do you mean he's going to Kyuushu?" Momoshiro demanded. _

_Seigaku's vice-captain was still in a shock after reading Echizen's message. _

**I'm leaving Seigaku**.

"_It is as Echizen has mentioned. He's leaving Seigaku. In fact, he boarded the plane to Kyuushu while you were all having your game."_

"_Why Kyuushu?" Momoshiro asked weakly._

_Kaidou was the one who thought about it first. "Fsshh…Kyuushu…wasn't that the place Tezuka-buchou went to after he injured his shoulder?"_

"_That is correct, Kaidou-kun. Echizen has gone to the rehabilitation centre in Kyuushu for treatment. He did not say anything about it as he wanted all of you to concentrate on your practice with Fudoumine."_

_Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief at that. "So that was what Echizen-buchou meant by 'I'm leaving Seigaku?' Sure gave us a scare." Tsun laughed weakly._

_Momoshiro's eyes were blazing. "Couldn't you have given us a more detailed explanation? Baka Echizen!!!"_

::End of Flashback::

"That Echizen…the next time I see him, I really will strangle him…" Momoshiro growled.

Meanwhile, as his imagination was busy conjuring up images of him strangling the Seigaku captain in his mind, everyone had already returned from running their laps.

"We've done 20 laps already, Momo-chan buchou-dai." The first years gasped, still trying to catch their breath. The second and third years were not as breathless, while the regulars had already recovered from their laps.

"No time to relax now! First years, court D. Second years and third years, court C. Regulars will remain here a while."

Once Momoshiro had given the order, everyone had already jogged off to their respective courts, while the regulars formed a line before Momoshiro, waiting for instructions.

Momoshiro looked down at the training menu Inui had given him. "Alright. As you all know, our wonderful captain has left us and flown all the way to Kyuushu without dropping a _proper_ note first, so we're on our own now for the Kantou Games."

Everyone gulped. How long would Momoshiro's grudge towards Echizen be?

"And as you all know, the Kantou Tournaments would be in another two months time. I daresay we will be facing a lot of nasty opponents. Last year, we had to face Rikkai Dai as our final opponent, and I assure you those are a nasty bunch. That is why, this round we would be increasing our training. For anyone who has performed badly, Inui-senpai has prepared some nice tonic for you."

He nodded at Inui, who held up a bottle. To everyone's horror, the bottle had shattered in the data player's hands, and the blood-red liquid splattered all over the floor.

"Any complaints?" Momoshiro asked.

Everyone shook their head hurriedly.

'Ryoma-buchou! Please come back soon!' Katsuo and Kachiro's minds were screaming.

"Right. Inui-senpai. You mentioned about a new training for us?" Momoshiro stepped back, allowing Inui to speak.

"Aa. We're doing 'Trust Fall' today. Anyone heard of it?" Inui looked up, and just by assessing their blank expressions, he could see that they didn't.

"Trust Fall works this way. Each of you would be paired at random. After that, in your pairs, one of you would be standing with your back facing your partner, and you will have your arms crossed in front of your chest and your eyes closed. You will have to fall backwards and your partner will have to catch you. Make sure you do not bend your knees, and that you do not try to stop the fall yourself."

He looked up to see everyone staring blankly at him. "What does this have to do with tennis?" Tsun asked.

"In a way speaking, yes. It is a test of your trust in your teammates. As you all know, with Echizen-kun gone, any one of you might have to be placed in doubles, and some of you might have to play singles instead. Everything will be decided at random, so I want to conduct this test to look for potential doubles' players."

"I still don't see the connection…" The next moment, Momoshiro found himself staring at a steaming mug.

"You were saying?" Inui asked, his glasses glinting.

"Uh…no. We'll do this exercise right away." Momoshiro laughed weakly, while the other regulars nodded quickly in approval. 'Ryoma-buchou…please hurry back quickly…'

In the start, it was Tsun-Itsuki, Katsuo-Kachiro, Kaidou-Takahiro and Momoshiro-Arai.

Of course, Tsun-Itsuki and Katsuo-Kachiro pairs did the exercise with no difficulty at all, seeing that they were experienced with doubles and trusted their partners completely. Takahiro severely distrusted Kaidou, and several times he had taken a step back when he felt himself falling backwards, stopping himself from even touching Kaidou. It was not until Inui brandished a milkshake in front of him did he become more cooperative. Thankfully, Kaidou caught the chessmaster quite easily, as the sophomore was actually quite light. Momoshiro and Arai had no problem too, and soon, everyone paired up with another partner.

Thanks to Inui's calculations, each of them was paired up with every member of the regulars at least once, and Inui calculated their reactions as well as the possibilities of all of them playing doubles. Tsun and Itsuki proved themselves to be true doubles players, as they could be paired up with anyone and still trusted their partner completely. Kachiro and Katsuo were doing a good job, well, that was until they were paired up with Arai.

"Don't you dare drop me, Kato!" Arai snapped. Katsuo had dropped him when they were paired up, and now Arai was taking out his anger on the other half of the sophomore pair.

"Hai!" Kachiro replied shakily. Arai did the trust fall. However, Kachiro couldn't catch him properly as:

1. He was too afraid of Arai to even touch him.

2. His hands were shaking too badly.

3. Arai was too heavy for him.

Everyone stopped to watch as Arai toppled onto Kachiro, bringing the poor sophomore down with him. Kachiro yelped as he was flattened alive.

"Kora! You wimp! I told you not to drop me!" Arai snarled, and the Psycho Pair hurried to separate them, while Inui continued writing in his notebook.

"Hmm…just as I've calculated. Arai-kun is most definitely a singles' player." He muttered to himself.

If the Arai-Kachiro pair was bad, another pair had just broken their record.

**THUMP**

At the sound, all the other regulars' heads whipped over to the remaining pair, who were the only two who haven't finished their trust fall activity yet. Momoshiro lay on the ground, seeing stars. Kaidou folded his arms, directing his attention at everyone else but Momo and hissing softly.

"Ow…" Momoshiro whimpered, while Kaidou gave a soft "Ch."

Inui sighed. "Kaidou-kun. You were supposed to catch Momoshiro-kun."

Kaidou gave a glare. "I don't want to catch baka Momoshiro. I don't even want to touch him. Fssshhh."

The dunk smash player had finally recovered enough from that nasty fall, and now he had gotten to his feet, seizing the front of Kaidou's shirt. "Mamushi! Teme! You did that on purpose! You want a fight?"

"FSSSHHH!"

"Please stop, Momo-chan buchou-dai. That was just an accident." Both Katsuo and Kachiro tried helplessly to pacify them. If only Ryoma-buchou were here…

"Enough! Momoshiro-kun. You're to switch with Kaidou-kun now, as it's your turn to catch him. One more thing. Be sure you do this exercise properly. If you drop him, you may try my new penal tea." Inui warned.

Momoshiro gulped. Between Kaidou and the penal tea, he had no idea which one he hated more. How many of Inui's inventions were brought over today anyway? Now that Ryoma was out of the picture, Inui seemed to be bringing more and more of his latest concoctions to their trainings. Where was that baka Echizen when you need him?

Kaidou grudgingly did the trust fall, and Momoshiro readied to catch him. He decided that he hated the penal tea more than he hated Kaidou, so he might as well do this right.

"Bwahahahaha!" The next moment, however, Kaidou had let out a shout of laughter.

Apparently, instead of catching Kaidou by the shoulders, Momoshiro had accidentally caught him by his sides instead, just under the armpits. Kaidou's most feared secret was out-He was ticklish.

Not even Tezuka would have been able to stop them now as Momoshiro and a red-faced Kaidou murdered each other. Inui did nothing to stop them, as he calmly continued jotting down in his notebook.

"Inui-senpai! Please do something!" Kachiro pleaded.

Inui merely looked up. "According to my data, they will stop fighting eventually. Besides, there is only a 0.05 percent chance that I would be able to stop those two, so just let them be."

"And when would they stop fighting?" Katsuo asked tentatively.

Inui flipped through his book, studying it a while. "In another three hours time." He stated calmly.

_Three hours?!_ At that, Kachiro fainted, while Katsuo paled.

As for the rest, the same thought crossed their minds.

'Echizen-buchou…!'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In Kyuushu 

"Ah-choo!" Ryoma sniffed, wondering if his team was alright. Then again, Momoshiro and Inui were handling the team, so everything should be fine. Right?

The Seigaku captain waited patiently as the doctor examined the extent of his injuries. In the meantime, he was contented with immersing himself in daydreams involving tennis, more tennis and a certain brunette, and tried not to listen as the doctor began speaking softly to the nurse present in the room.

After a while, the doctor cleared his throat, and Ryoma returned to reality instantly.

"Echizen-san. As you would most probably know, the fracture of your right arm is quite serious, and will not be healing anytime soon. On a happier note, your right leg is healing quite fast. I daresay by the end of this month we will be able to take that cast off."

That was good news, at least. Ryoma felt himself relax considerably.

"One more thing. Even we do not know the true extent of your head injuries. From the report received from the hospital you were in previously, I can deduce that you have some mild amnesia."

"I don't have amnesia." Ryoma frowned. He remembered all his teammates, his senpais, his parents and Kunimitsu, didn't he? He was quite positive that he did not forget anything.

The doctor chuckled. "Do you remember anything about the accident?"

Ryoma tried to recall again, but all he got was a big blank.

"That's what I meant. You do not recall some events, and there might be more in the future. In the meantime, please rest well until at least your leg has recovered. After that, we will be coming up with a strict exercise regime for you." The doctor finally concluded.

Ryoma hurriedly put his shirt back on as the doctor began writing his diagnosis in his report. The only sounds in the room after that was the scratching of the doctor's pen against paper.

Taking that as his cue to leave, Ryoma gave a mumble of thanks before signaling to his guide, who placed a hand on his shoulder to guide him out.

"Echizen-san. Just out of curiosity. Who recommended you to our centre?" The nurse, who had a friendly tone in her voice, asked.

Ryoma turned back to them. "My former club captain, Tezuka Kunimitsu. He was here once…do you remember him?"

There was a sharp crack as the doctor broke his pen, while the nurse had gone extremely quiet.

The sudden silence in the room made Ryoma feel awkward. "Uh…I guess you don't."

"Tezuka Kunimitsu…" the nurse began slowly, taking off her nurse's cap. (Ryoma couldn't see this, but the guide could)

Suddenly, she began wringing and twisting her cap violently. Ryoma was highly thankful that he couldn't see what was going on, but he could roughly guess how the poor fabric was being tortured, considering that his hearing was in perfect working condition.

Phillip had given a whimper, and began playing commentator for Ryoma, much to the green-haired boy's dismay. "Oh my gosh! She's twisting it like she's trying to strangle someone! Why is she making it look like she wants to wring it dry? It's already dry!"

"Tezuka Kunimitsu…oh yes…I remember that brat! That very arrogant, disobedient brat!"

'Haa?' Ryoma never knew such adjectives could be used for his boyfriend.

The doctor had thrown his pen into the nearest wastepaper basket, considering it was of no use now in its state. "Aa. That Tezuka Kunimitsu was a nightmare…"

"He had injured his arm that badly, and all of us had given him strict instructions to rest. But that boy just refused to listen to any of our advice! Every day without fail he would go and train against the wall, practicing for so many hours at an end. Was he even thinking about his arm at all?!" The nurse was still wringing her cap.

Ryoma tried not to chuckle. That sounded just like Kunimitsu. He would not sit still without doing a little training. Ryoma would have done the same in his shoes. So Tezuka was considered disobedient because of this?

"He was always making us worried, running out of the centre early in the morning and returning in the evening. How would he recover then? In fact, it was a miracle he even recovered at all." The doctor added.

"Finally, why was he always frowning at us like we have offended him? That boy hardly spoke to any of us, preferring to stay quiet 90 percent of the time. We have really given up trying to start up a conversation with him!" The nurse had stopped killing her cap and was now tearing at her hair.

Ryoma sighed. Sounds like Kunimitsu had really traumatized these people.

The doctor and the nurse now directed glares at the green-haired boy. (Ryoma knew this because his guide had pointed it out with a meep)

"Say…you're a really good friend of his, aren't you?" The nurse's voice was tinted with the promise of murder.

"No, no…of course not…why would you say that?" Ryoma lied quickly. 'Gomen, Kunimitsu, but my life is at stake now. I'm sure you'd understand.'

The nurse gave a slightly relieved 'hmph'. The doctor was the next to speak. "In that case, when we instruct you to rest, you'll obey right?"

"Of course, of course!" Ryoma agreed quickly. _Not_.

"That's good. We hope you would cooperate with us, as we do not wish to have another patient like that Tezuka. Understood?"

"Usu."

"Now go back to your room. You're to refrain from tennis until at least your leg has healed. Is that clear?" The doctor asked.

"Usu."

"You'll keep an eye on him. Is that clear?" The doctor asked.

"Yup. Crystal clear." Phillip gulped.

It was only after the two of them had reluctantly given their word did the doctor allow Ryoma to retire to his room, which the green-haired boy gladly obliged. He feared for his neck if he had stayed in the room longer.

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"I want to play tennis." It was only a few hours after they had returned from Ryoma's checkup, and already the golden-eyed boy was breaking his word to the doctor.

Phillip folded his arms over his chest. (Ryoma couldn't see this, of course.) "That is out of the question, Echizen-sama. They have instructed for me to make sure you rest, and I fully intend to carry out that order."

Ryoma's frown became worse. He definitely did not like this personal servant of his at all.

"Atobe had mentioned that you are to listen to every single order of mine, so I'm ordering you to let me out of this room! I want to play tennis."

"Atobe-sama has mentioned that I'm only going to listen to your _reasonable_ orders. Your current instructions are completely irrational, so I am not going to follow it. Besides, you've already promised that doctor you'll behave yourself." Phillip insisted.

"Don't treat me like a kid! I have every right to go wherever I want to, and do whatever I want to. I'm going to practice. Do not get in my way." Ryoma knew he was being bratty, but he really felt like hitting at least a few shots. It wouldn't hurt now, would it?

"I've said no. I would not want to explain to Atobe-sama if the person placed under my protection had somehow ended up strangled by the doctors and nurses for disobeying instructions. You did not see how that woman was twisting her cap…" Phillip shuddered.

No matter how Ryoma protested, Phillip would not budge with his decision, and eventually they managed to come to an agreement that Ryoma could play his tennis, as soon as his leg has recovered, which should be in another week's time.

Needless to say, Ryoma severely disliked his guide now, and spent most of the time ignoring the blonde.

XXX

"Echizen-sama. I understand that you're severely discontented with being confined to your room now, but this silent treatment is really disturbing…" Phillip finally said one day, unable to stand the silence.

Ryoma ignored him. While his guide had forbade him to go out and hit some shots, for fear that Ryoma might forget about his injuries, that did not stop Ryoma from practicing his swings. Currently he was swinging his racket in his room, counting every stroke.

His guide gave a sigh. "Won't you say anything? Anything at all?"

Ryoma gave an irritable growl deep in his throat, lowering his racket. Fine. If he really wanted to hear something…

"I'm thirsty." He stated rather roughly.

"Right! I'll get you something to drink right away!" He could hear Phillip dashing off. Ah well. At least he had gotten rid of the guide temporarily. With that, he continued on with his practice.

His guide returned much too soon to his liking. "Here." The guide handed Ryoma his drink.

Ryoma merely took a sip before giving the drink back to Phillip. "I want Ponta."

"I understand. Will be right back!" Phillip sped off again.

His guide returned not too long later with his order, and Ryoma had taken a sip, though once again, he returned it to his guide.

"This is peach-flavored Ponta. I want _grape_-flavored Ponta."

"My mistake. I'll be off again." Once more, he could hear the blonde leaving the room, and Ryoma tried hard to hide a snicker.

A tennis-deprived Ryoma was never a happy Ryoma, and the Seigaku captain vented his frustrations by bullying his guide with his endless and crazy demands, making the poor blonde run in and out of the room. He was mildly impressed, however, as the other man had endured it without making much complaint.

After a couple of days, Ryoma decided he had enough with bullying Phillip, and the anti-social was back to ignoring the other man again.

XXX

To Ryoma's relief, it finally came the day when the doctor decided it was all right to take the cast off his leg.

When the doctor did so, however, Ryoma had the strong urge to ask for him to put it back on.

For it was definitely not a pleasant feeling for Ryoma as blood circulation returned to his right leg. When the cast was first taken off, his limb felt numb. Moments later, however, it hurt, and Ryoma was quite sure he would still need crutches for a while.

"We will give you a special training to exercise that limb of yours. Don't worry. You should be able to walk normally in a few more days." The doctor chuckled at seeing Ryoma's expression.

"I understand." Ryoma gave his reply, and the doctor could see how determined Ryoma was to make a full recovery.

XXX

Aside from his determination, Ryoma had his age as an additional bonus. Thanks to his youth, he recovered, and was soon walking without the aid of crutches anymore.

At least, now that he had regained one of his limbs again, Ryoma was in a much better mood. It didn't take long before he learned to warm up to his guide, much to the blonde's relief.

"You have new messages again, Echizen-sama. From the same two people." Phillip told him.

Ryoma sat on the edge of his bed, lightly bouncing a tennis ball while waiting for the other to continue on.

"The first is from Momoshiro Takeshi. _Echizen. We're all geared up here for the Kantou Tournaments. How are you doing now? Everyone here really misses you. I've asked our senpais, and it seems that we're not the only ones. Eiji-senpai was really pining for 'ochibi', Oishi-senpai hopes that you've been eating and sleeping well, and Atobe is asking if you found his bodyguards well trained. He requested for you to be awed by his wealth. As for Tezuka-buchou…well, I believe he misses you too, but he's not really showing it. That guy's facial expression doesn't change at all, so I can't really tell. Anyway, I'll update you on our club some other time._"

Phillip opened the other message on Ryoma's handphone.

"This one is from Tezuka Kunimitsu. _Yudan Sezu ni Ikkou_. Honestly…is that all he's going to say?" Phillip frowned.

Ryoma chuckled lightly. That was just like Kunimitsu to say that. He sure hoped his boyfriend was doing well.

"Speaking of Tezuka-san. I've been curious. How are things going between you and him?" Phillip asked curiously.

Seeing Ryoma's frown, Phillip gave a light laugh and hurriedly added, "Atobe-sama has mentioned about the relationship between the both you and Tezuka-san when he had assigned me as your bodyguard."

"Ceh…" Ryoma mentally placed the Monkey King on his 'to-kill' list.

Phillip grinned. "Ne, ne. How did the both of you meet anyway? How did you come to like him?"

Ryoma grimaced. This fellow had to be one of the nosiest guys he had ever met in his entire life, though his questions did bring some memories back to him. When did he begin to like Kunimitsu huh…

::Flashback::

_Ryoma fell to his hands and knees, completely out of breath. His gaze was focused on the tennis ball before the net. The green-haired boy was also in a state of disbelief, as he had just lost to someone aside from his father for the very first time._

_On the other side of the net, Tezuka was staring at him with his usual stern, brown gaze._

_Ryoma stared back defiantly at his captain. He really had no idea what Tezuka was thinking of when the captain had challenged the green-haired teen to a match, and he really did not understand why the captain had gone all out during the match. However, he certainly did not like losing to the brunette._

_For a long while, Tezuka did not speak, did not state his reasons for their match, and just when Ryoma was starting to doubt he ever would, Tezuka had finally spoken up._

"_Echizen. Become Seigaku's Pillar of Strength." With that, the brunette turned and walked away, leaving down a still rather dazed prodigy._

_Everything had begun on that day, as Ryoma soon found himself with yet another rival to defeat. Tezuka Kunimitsu. No matter how hard he tried, however, he found that he could not reach Tezuka's level of tennis._

_Very often after that, Ryoma found himself observing the older boy, hoping to spot a weakness in his play style which Ryoma could use to his own advantage. It soon became a routine for him to watch Tezuka, and if he didn't, he would feel very uncomfortable for the whole day. _

_Somehow, even though it started off with Ryoma trying to beat the captain, he found himself soon holding a great amount of respect for the older boy. Tezuka's tennis was flawless, as was his extremely responsible character. His respect for the captain became admiration, and Ryoma soon found himself believing that there was no one who could match Tezuka in terms of skills. Well, no one except Ryoma himself, of course._

_Needless to say, he could not forget the day Seigaku played against Hyotei._

"_Tezuka!!!" Everyone had run into the courts the minute the captain had fallen, his hand clutching his left shoulder._

_Tezuka did not make a sound, not even after the destruction of his shoulder. "Do not come closer!" he gave the order, and all the regulars froze._

_Tezuka gave them all a calm stare, expertly masking his pain. "The match is not over yet." To everyone's horror, he had picked up his racket again._

_It eventually became a drawn out tiebreak between Tezuka and Atobe. Seeing Tezuka's determination, it somehow stirred Ryoma's fighting spirit, amongst other feelings. After Ryoma had returned from a warm-up practice with Momoshiro, he had mixed emotions when he saw Tezuka and Atobe's match still going on._

_He was impressed to see how Tezuka could still maintain his defense with that kind of injury._

_He was also horrified to see something that the others might not be so adept in picking up, for Tezuka was doing a good job in hiding it._

_The Seigaku captain was in pain. Somehow Ryoma was able to see beyond the mask, and he knew that. Every time Tezuka tried to lift his shoulder, unbearable pain shot through the brunette's arm. _

_The agonizingly long tiebreak came to an end as Tezuka's shot hit the net. Apparently his shoulder had reached its limit._

_Even as some of the non-regulars groaned at their loss, Ryoma couldn't help feeling a sense of relief, seeing that Tezuka need not torture himself any longer. Slowly, he walked down to the courts. He knew that his anger must have been showing on his face, for a few of the regulars and non-regulars were staring at him curiously. _

_Tezuka's gaze met his. 'Become Seigaku's Pillar of Support.' The words rang in Ryoma's mind once again._

_He directed his gaze across the courts, at where the Hyotei players were seated. At Atobe Keigo._

_He would not forgive the Monkey King for this…_

::End of Flashback::

"Echizen-sama? Hey, Echizen-sama? Can you hear me?"

Phillip's voice brought Ryoma back to the present. The green-haired boy frowned. He had been enjoying a rather delightful flashback, as he had recalled his first time experience as a hairstylist, with the Monkey King as his unwilling test subject.

"What?" Ryoma asked rather irritably.

"You didn't answer my question. About Tezuka-san." Phillip was grinning eagerly.

Ryoma was not able to see the grin, though he could detect the curiosity in the other boy's tone and sighed. "Tezuka Kunimitsu was the person who taught me the true meaning of tennis. All right. I've answered your question. Good night." Ryoma pulled the covers over his head, signaling that he wished to sleep/avoid the topic.

"Ceh. Such a miser." Phillip shook his head.

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In Tokyo (Early June)

"Takeshi!"

Momoshiro snapped out of his thoughts, looking up to meet the angry gaze of his girlfriend.

"Ah. Ann-chan. Where was I?" he laughed sheepishly.

"You were speaking about Echizen-kun. Again." Ann crossed her arms over her chest, a scowl marring her pretty face.

Momoshiro gave a sheepish grin. "Gomen, gomen. It's just that I really am worried for him. So far, he hasn't replied to any of our messages, and he did not even contact any of the seniors. Not even Tezuka."

Ann took a sip of her peach smoothie. "Mou, Takeshi. Didn't Inui-san mention to you before that Echizen-kun was hoping for all of you to concentrate on your own work, and not to worry about him? That's why he hasn't been in contact. Besides, Atobe-san gets daily reports about him. From the last report, Echizen-kun is fine and well."

Momoshiro slumped on the table. "I really can't help it. Gah! Echizen doesn't take me as his friend at all if he's ignoring all of us like that! He's contacting Inui-senpai after all."

"Takeshi!" Ann scolded.

Seeing her boyfriend looking depressed, Ann gave a sigh.

"I give up. If you're really that worried, I'll call up onii-chan tonight and ask him to pay Echizen-kun a visit. At least we'll be hearing more about your club captain then."

Ann looked up to see Momoshiro staring at her intently. Somehow, his gaze was causing the heat to rush to her cheeks.

The next moment, Momoshiro had seized both her hands. "Ann-chan! Did I ever tell you that you're the best? If I haven't, I'll say it again. You're really the best!" he had grabbed her in a bear-hug.

"T-Takeshi…people are staring. It's only a small favour. You don't have to overreact like that!" The poor girl was looking highly embarrassed, though she was pleased as well to see Momoshiro so happy.

"Let them stare then." Momoshiro grinned. He enjoyed the attention anyway.

Ann sighed. Now why did she date this guy again?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In Kyuushu

At long last, Ryoma was finally allowed outdoors. The green-haired boy stretched once he had stepped out of the centre, feeling happier than he was in days.

His doctor had also removed the bandages to his head. Once all the cloth was removed, he eagerly jammed his fila cap back on his head.

"Are you intending to play a game of tennis now?" Phillip asked.

Ryoma shook his head. "No. Only a round of practice first, just to test the accuracy of my shots."

Before long, they came to a halt before a wall, which Phillip assumed to be the 'scene of crime', thanks to all the holes drilled into the wall by the notorious Tezuka Kunimitsu. He shuddered. From the description given by the doctor and the nurse, Phillip didn't have a very good impression of Ryoma's former captain.

Ryoma started with some warm-ups first, swinging his rackets about a hundred times before hitting tennis balls against the wall, and Phillip's jaw dropped when he saw how every shots landed almost around the same area.

"That is so cool! Your shots are really accurate!" he stated.

He looked over to see that Ryoma didn't look happy at all. On the contrary, the green-haired boy was frowning. "This is not good enough. In fact, this is nowhere near my old level of tennis. Just by hearing the shots, I know that they're landing all over the place."

"Well…they are not exactly landing at the same spot, but at least they've landed around the same area. That's good enough." Phillip tried to encourage him.

Ryoma shook his head stubbornly. "No. This is not good enough. I would be playing in the Nationals, and there are many powerful opponents I would face there. This level of tennis would be beaten easily."

He continued hitting his shots against the wall, and after an hour did he realize his weakness. He had been too dependant on his sight, which had allowed him to hit his shots very accurately. Now that he was blind, he would have to train his swings to be extremely precise. Granted, he could play with his eyes closed, but that was only because he could hear the shots when they were returned. He would have to do better than this…

"I'm sure you'll get better, Echizen-sama. It's only a matter of practice." Phillip tried to lighten up the other boy's mood.

Ryoma continued hitting the tennis balls against the wall for hours, and Phillip couldn't help but be impressed by the boy's determination. After some time, Ryoma's shots were getting more and more accurate, though it would take him a long while before it reached his former level.

"I've just thought of something. You were the one who has opened the third door, weren't you? Why not try activating it? It might improve your accuracy." Phillip suggested.

Ryoma stopped his practice temporarily. His guide had a point. He relaxed and tried to enter the state of self-actualization.

All Ryoma found in his mind was darkness. He tried to activate it again, and a sharp pain ripped through his skull, causing him to black out.

"Echizen-sama!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I believe this has something to do with your head injuries. You have not fully recovered anyway." The doctor concluded.

Ryoma massaged his temples, his head still throbbing slightly.

Phillip gulped. He still hasn't gotten over the scare the green-haired boy had given him yet.

Ryoma sat up straighter. "Doctor. This is only temporary right? Once my head injuries heal everything would return to normal right?"

The doctor sighed. "I don't know. One thing for sure. This ability which you call the state of self-actualization, I don't think you can use it anymore. Whether it is temporary or permanent, only time will tell."

Ryoma swallowed. He had lost the Pinnacle of Perfection.

Once the doctor has dismissed him, Phillip guided the green-haired boy back to his room. Ryoma didn't protest, as he still felt numb.

He had never been more lost in his entire life…

To be continued…

A/N: Muahahaha! Venting out my frustrations for the assignments by going into super-sadistic mode. I am the Queen of Sadists!

Saa…Ryoma's blind, and he no longer has the P.O.P. What would he do now? (At least I've given him back his right leg as a consolation prize)

I made Ryoma so mean to his guide. Ah well. I suppose that's what he might do to people he's unfamiliar with, and when he's in a mood like that. Is that too OOC? Hope someone could drop me a comment about this.

After rereading it, I've realized that some parts might seem rather Atobe X Echizen and Momoshiro X Echizen. Rest assured that I'm going to stick to Tezuka X Echizen only.

Hmm…about the activity the Seigaku members did, I'm not too sure if I got the name right-Trust Fall. Is there a different name for it? I'm not too sure if you're able to picture the activity I mentioned.

I'm afraid in this chapter, I've really cut down on the fluff and humour. Rather reflects my current mood these few weeks anyway. Hopefully my spirits would be back up by the next chapter. Wish me luck.

In the meantime, **Please Read and Review. No Flames Please.**

-Gwyn


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. Otherwise the first ones I'd kidnap are Tezuka and Echizen.**

**Warning: Contain spoilers for the latest manga chapters. Shonen-ai fic. Very, very long chapter.**

**Pairings: Tezuka X Echizen. Momoshiro X Ann**

**(This chapter is followed by chapter 17 in Life After Seigaku)**

A/N: I would suggest that you read this chapter first, as the events would come before some of the events in Life After Seigaku.

**A thousand thanks to all who reviewed. **I've put the reviews reply at the bottom of the page, as this chapter's word count really broke my old record.

To the story then…

**Echizen, Our Buchou**

By: Gwynhafra

Chapter 15

Kyuushu

"Where is Echizen-san?" Doctor Sagashita asked one of the nurses.

"I have no idea. He's been missing again, for the third time this week." The nurse had taken off her cap and was twisting it violently again.

"Gah! This brat is just like that Tezuka boy. Are all junior high tennis players this disobedient nowadays?" the doctor was getting severely frustrated.

The doctor and nurse in charge of Ryoma's treatment were now doing a manhunt for the boy. Currently they were racing around in the centre, checking for places where the boy might be and turning the whole center upside-down as they were trying to look for him.

"That fool! Didn't we tell him about his head injuries? If he slips and falls somewhere, we can't even get to him in time. Must he make us worry like that? My poor heart…" The doctor was muttering. Dealing with two tennis players in a row was detrimental to his health.

"His guide is with him, isn't he? I think he's in good hands." The nurse spoke up.

The doctor clenched his hand in a fist. "That guy's another problem. He's supposed to be keeping an eye on Echizen, but now he's that brat's partner-in-crime. Heaven knows where they've run off to. If I get my hands on the both of them…"

One of the center's doctors rushed over at that moment. "We've found Echizen-san!"

XXX

"Ah-choo!" Phillip sniffed. Somehow, he has been sneezing a lot recently, after he had agreed to assist in Echizen's 'escapes', that was.

He looked on worriedly as Ryoma practiced against the wall with a crazed fervor. No one and nothing could stop the boy. It was as if the spirit of this notorious Tezuka Kunimitsu had possessed him, and now it was his turn to be practicing against the wall for hours at a go. Phillip would have to applaud him for his determination. Had it been him instead, Phillip would have passed out before the wall in just one hour into practice.

Ryoma didn't take the idea of losing the Pinnacle of Perfection too well. Time and again, he would try to activate the skill, and Phillip would then have to carry the boy back for treatment, again.

He severely doubted that the doctors were too happy with Ryoma. The green-haired boy might not be able to see it, but every time he passed by the doctors and nurses, they would begin to clench their fists, and some of them would start making strangling motions with whatever their holding, be it their cap, a cloth, or a patient's arm.

Phillip turned his attention back to the one under his care. Ryoma was trying to make up for his sight by training his strokes to be superbly accurate. He certainly looked like he was succeeding though, as now his shots were hitting the same spot again and again.

"Ne. Echizen-sama. How about you take a break? Your swings have been perfected already after all. It wouldn't do you good to overexert yourself like that, as your body hasn't fully recovered yet."

Ryoma ignored him, as usual. The boy stubbornly returned the shots against the wall, his attention fully focused on every stroke of his racket.

Phillip sighed. He got up and went to buy a can of Ponta. Just before he left, however, Ryoma had finally spoken up.

"Be sure to get grape-flavored."

Phillip chuckled. "Hai."

He returned not too long later, holding the drink. Ryoma halted his practice, wiping sweat off his brow with his hand. He went to sit next to Phillip, taking his drink with a mumble of thanks.

Ryoma's guide waited a while as the Seigaku captain took a sip, swallowing the cool drink gratefully. The blonde then cleared his throat, signaling that he wished to speak up.

"Echizen-sama. I believe you've already overcome any possible weakness in your swings, though till now I still don't quite see what you're so worried about. Your shots are near perfect. Anyway, I really would insist that you rest a little. Your right leg especially still needs some time to heal. While the cast has been taken off, it will take you a while before you can start running around again."

Ryoma lowered his can of drink. "…you have a point there." He said slowly.

Phillip felt relief running through him. Ryoma understood! The stubborn captain finally understood how important it was for him to get enough rest…

"My right leg certainly needs a bit more training. You definitely have a point there…" Ryoma continued on.

Phillip tore at his hair. Scratch that. Ryoma didn't understand at all! "Echizen-sama!" he yelled in frustration.

Suddenly, Phillip heard footsteps rushing their direction and got to his feet immediately. He was Ryoma's bodyguard after all, so he would always have to be alert to any signs of danger.

He cowered, however, when he saw who was coming.

"Mister Echizen Ryoma! There you are!" Ryoma's doctor had finally caught them, with two nurses behind him. One of them was holding a syringe, and Phillip gulped. They weren't going to knock Ryoma out with tranquilizers and drag him back now, would they?

"Do you have any idea how we've been looking all over for you? Shouldn't you at least leave a note at the counter if you're going out?" the doctor scowled, not looking happy at all.

Ryoma got to his feet. "This is not a prison. I'm free to go wherever I want to."

"Echizen-sama…I don't think that's a very nice thing to say at all…" Phillip whispered urgently as he saw the doctor's face darken. Was Doctor Sagashita related to a dragon? He certainly looked so.

"I am your doctor, and I have a duty to watch over your treatment! You should at least inform me if you're running around, or I will have to confine you to your room." The doctor looked like he was going to suffer a stroke there and then, and Phillip definitely looked like he was going to join him, since he was standing in the middle of this crossfire.

Ryoma gave a quiet "ceh.", lowering his cap to hide his face. Moments later, he mumbled a soft "gomenasai", much to Phillip's relief.

That seemed to have pacified the doctor a little, at least. Ryoma really should apologize more often.

"I'm glad that you're sorry. Very well. Come along with us now, and don't you dare go running off by yourself again." The doctor warned.

Ryoma obeyed, allowing his guide to lead him back to the centre. He was done with training for the day after all. Phillip gave a sigh. He sure hoped that Ryoma wouldn't be doing this again anytime soon. Who knew how many years of his life was gone already, just running after this bratty captain.

XXX

Ryoma certainly behaved himself this time, as he remained in the centre for most of the times. However, he was still training, as now he was using the treadmill in the center's gym.

Doctor Sagashita had assigned him a trainer, who monitored Ryoma's progress, and kept watch to make sure the boy didn't overdo his training.

"Remember. Keep it at a light jog for now. After your muscles and bones have strengthened, only then can you start running." The trainer was saying.

Ryoma scowled. He had been reminded over and over again about this so often, it was getting annoying.

While his right leg had recovered, for now, he could only do some light jogging, and wasn't allowed to run just yet.

After a while, the trainer gave him instructions to stop, and he obeyed. He had decided that he had enough of jogging anyway.

Once he and Phillip had left the gym, the guide knew what Ryoma was going to say next.

"I'm going out to practice."

Phillip sighed. How on earth did he end up taking care of such a stubborn tennis player again?

"Very well, Echizen-sama. We'll go to the usual spot." He knew better than to protest, since nothing would change Ryoma's mind once he was set on doing something.

Ryoma adjusted his cap slightly. "Not the usual spot. Take me to the tennis courts. I'll have a match against you."

"Eh?" Phillip was surprised. What on earth was Ryoma playing at?

Ryoma smirked. "What? You're not afraid now, are you?"

Phillip was torn between wanting to play against the Seigaku captain and concern for the boy's physical health.

"Echizen-sama. You're not serious, are you? Can't you wait until you've recovered?"

"It's not in my nature to sit still and do nothing. I want to practice against an opponent, and you're the best option now." Ryoma stated.

Phillip sighed. Ah well, just his luck to have agreed to become this boy's bodyguard. He might as well do his job properly.

"Fine." He put his hand on Ryoma's shoulder, guiding him to the nearest park's tennis courts.

Ryoma seemed to be in a better mood as he walked around the courts a little, running a hand over the net.

"One set match. Which?"

"Smooth." Phillip replied. Ryoma's racket spun for a while before falling to the ground, with the 'R' now upside down.

"It's rough." Phillip informed.

"I choose to serve." Ryoma told him.

"End." Phillip went to the baseline. 'Make sure you don't hurt Echizen, he's not in the best condition.' He reminded himself.

He shouldn't have bothered though, as he was graciously beaten by the blind boy. Ryoma may not be able to see, but his shots lacked neither power nor accuracy. Phillip chuckled. This guy's tennis had long exceeded the level of a junior high student's.

"Game and match. Echizen Ryoma, 6 games to 0." Ryoma announced arrogantly after just 13 minutes.

Phillip was trying to catch his breath. "You really are a monster."

"Mada mada dane." Ryoma's stomach growled. Phillip burst out laughing, causing the other boy to turn red.

"I see. In your excitement to play tennis, you had completely forgotten lunch. Honestly, if you didn't have a guide, I wonder what would have happened to you." Phillip guided Ryoma to the bench, setting him down there.

"I'll get lunch. What do you want?" He asked.

Ryoma thought about it a while. "Ponta…and burgers. Make sure you get fish and not chicken."

"Hai hai. Honestly, you can be really demanding." Phillip walked away, and Ryoma waited patiently, folding his arms.

Not too long later, he heard footsteps approaching him. His guide was back so soon?

"Phillip?" Ryoma asked.

His question caused laughter to erupt from the person approaching him…no…not one person. His hearing detected two sets of laughter.

"My my, he really is in a sorry state. I'll say he looks worse than how the Tennis Monthly had reported him to be."

These voices were unfamiliar. Ryoma got to his feet, trying to back away from the source of the voices. His actions caused more snickers to break out.

"Hmph. He may be a hotshot back then, winning the Nationals when he was only a first-year, but now he's only a handicapped person. You're still playing tennis? Reality check. You're blind. Blind people should just retire already." Someone reached out to grab his arm- His _right_ arm. Ryoma gave a yelp of pain as the person tightened his grip on his injured arm.

"I could still remember the day you beat me with that nasty twist serve of yours. There's no way I could forget it, considering your shot had hit my face."

"Who are you?" Ryoma asked, sounding bored. If he had to do a headcount of all the people he had ever beaten in matches, he would need a notebook like Inui-senpai's. The only two people he had ever lost to before were his Kunimitsu and his baka oyaji, so who the heck were these ruffians?

"Hmph! I was formerly from Samui Gakuen, your opponent during last year's district games."

"Hmm?" Ryoma couldn't recall that school, let alone its players. Then again, he would only remember powerful opponents that were worth noticing.

"You actually forgot? Teme!" The guy seized the front of Ryoma's shirt. Ryoma might have gotten taller when he hit his growth spurt, but this fellow was taller than he was, and Ryoma knew that he was at a disadvantage. Where was his bodyguard when you need him?

The guy shoved Ryoma backwards, and the green-haired boy landed painfully on his bottom. He had never wished for his sight back so badly before, as he would really love to give the guy his death glare.

The guy leered down at the boy, who had gotten back on his feet. "Well. With your pitiful state, I can probably beat you with my eyes closed. That car accident really was a blessing for us. Now we have one less opponent to worry of. How lucky!"

The second guy, who had been quiet all that time, had now spoken up. "Ne. Jien. Is this guy really as powerful as you said he was? He doesn't look so."

"Don't worry. He's harmless now." The first speaker gloated.

Ryoma gritted his teeth. "Yarou…"

"Watch your language." The first speaker, Jien had lashed out, striking Ryoma across the face. From his tone, this guy was obviously enjoying himself, as Ryoma was completely vulnerable to his assaults.

Ryoma knew that there was no way he could defend himself; instead, he concentrated on defending his injured right arm instead. These guys were ruthless. Who knew what they would actually do to him.

Before the guy could land another blow to Ryoma, however, Ryoma heard him give a yelp of pain.

"How brave of you, to lay a hand on Echizen-sama while I'm not around." Phillip's voice was deadly. He gave a punch, sending the guy flying back to his companion.

Ryoma never thought he would ever be so happy to hear Phillip around. His bodyguard cracked his knuckles.

"Get out of my sight. If I ever catch you lingering around here again, I would give you more than a black eye and a loose jaw. Got that?" he warned.

Jien picked himself off the ground. "I'll remember this. Don't think you can hide behind that guard dog of yours forever, Echizen!" With that, the two bullies fled before Phillip changed his mind about not killing them.

Ryoma winced slightly as he touched his face. Phillip picked up Ryoma's fallen cap and handed it back to him.

"I think it would be unwise of us to linger out here for today. Let's go back to the center. You have to get those injuries of your checked."

"I'm alright. You don't have to worry." Ryoma muttered. He knew there would be a bruise on his face and frowned.

"Phillip, when we get back to the center, don't mention about what had happened. Understood?"

"But…Echizen-sama…" Phillip began to protest. Ryoma ignored his words and started walking off, signaling that no objections were allowed.

Phillip sighed. With that, he bit back his protests and guided Ryoma back to the center. Well, if the doctor asked, Phillip would have to tell him that Ryoma caught a tennis ball in the face then.

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That incident did not stop Ryoma from practicing, as he still went out to the park as usual. This time, his guide made sure to always keep him within his sights, and even the slightest rustle in the bushes would cause the poor blonde to be jumpy.

More often than not, the bullies would return, and Phillip would drive them away, after convincing a few of them that black-eyes did not compliment their look, that was.

As he had feared, those ruffians held a grudge against Ryoma. When the green-haired was practicing one day, he could hear footsteps approaching, and by the sounds of it, there were more people heading over than usual.

"Echizen-sama. We have to leave. Now!" Phillip hissed, already alert to danger and now trying to lead Ryoma off before those people could come. Unfortunately for him, he found the same two ruffians blocking his way. It seemed that they had brought over their teammates, as Phillip counted 10 people.

"Is this the guy who had been beating you up?" A rather bulky guy asked, pointing at Phillip.

"Yes. That's him." Jien nodded eagerly. As the guy pinned the blonde with an angry stare, Phillip was mentally calculating the chances of him being able to drive off all these people and keeping Ryoma unharmed at the same time. It looked like his chances were pretty slim.

"I am the captain of Hoteru Senior High, and I do not appreciate you beating up my club members one bit." The one leading the team now towered over both Phillip and Ryoma.

"I have a duty to protect the one placed under my care. Your club members have been assaulting this guy, and I was merely retaliating in self-defense." Phillip countered.

The captain sneered at him, shifting his attention to Ryoma. "Ah. This guy huh. Now what was his name again…oh yes, that boy who had appeared in the papers before. Echizen Ryoma, back from the dead."

His club members guffawed behind their captain, as if he had just made a joke.

Phillip was getting mildly anxious. He was trying to find a way to get Ryoma away from here, and fast!

The captain then gave Ryoma a mock bow. "It's an honour to be in the presence of the famous Echizen Ryoma, ever perfect tennis player. Now then, I do believe that while you're probably the best player in Japan, some compensation is needed for my club members' injuries. Why don't we do this? We'll settle this in a match. If you win, I'll let the both of you go free. If we win, all of us would be allowed to throw a punch at you."

"Over my dead body!" Phillip immediately snapped, though Ryoma put one hand on his shoulder to stop him from taking on all of those bullies. They were on the losing end after all.

"Very well." Ryoma took out his racket. Phillip looked on worriedly as Ryoma went into the courts.

"Who's my first opponent?" He asked.

Apparently, the one he had beaten before had been most eager to face him in a match again, and Jien walked over to the other side.

"I can't wait to have you at my feet, begging for mercy." Jien gloated. He served, aiming towards Ryoma's face.

The next moment, Ryoma had returned the shot with a Drive A, and Jien was left lying on the ground with a ball-shaped mark imprinted on his face, knocked out.

"That's for punching me the other day." Ryoma muttered darkly. He tapped his racket against his shoulder and raised his voice, so that the others could hear him. "Now then, I don't think he can continue playing. Who's next?"

It was only a matter of moments before he creamed all of them, 6 games to 0. Only the captain was left now.

"Is he even human?" The ones who were beaten asked amongst themselves. The captain now stood before Ryoma.

"Your arrogance disgusts me." He growled. He used an extremely fast serve, aiming for Ryoma's injured arm.

Ryoma had detected that too late, and when he hurried to defend his arm, he made an awkward return. Using the chance, the club captain of Hoteru High used the chance to fire a smash, hitting Ryoma in the stomach.

"Echizen-sama!" Phillip yelled out as Ryoma keeled over. The Seigaku captain had the wind knocked out of him, and now he was trying to regain his breath.

"What's wrong? You're the perfect tennis player, aren't you? You're supposed to be able to return that." The other guy taunted.

Ryoma gritted his teeth. "Yarou…" he managed to win the next round as it was his turn to serve, and he did a left-handed Tornado Twist Serve.

The rally continued on between the two, and Ryoma was at the losing edge, since the opponent repeatedly attacked his injured body. Knowing that he would not be able to win unless he did something, once more Ryoma tried to activate the Pinnalce of Perfection.

Yet again, a sharp pain hit his head, and he fought to keep his mind from blacking out. Seeing that, the captain became more violent with his style of playing.

The opponent won the match, 6 games to 4. Ryoma gritted his teeth as the club members began laughing again.

"Look at him, on his knees there." They guffawed. Ryoma was half-crouching, as he was unable to stand, since every time he did, a sharp pain would hit his injured abdomen.

"Let me have a go next!" the beaten players now rushed to have a rematch against the Seigaku captain. Two were playing against him and Ryoma struggled to get to his feet as they served.

The next moment, the two shots heading towards Ryoma were knocked away by another two shots, fired by two bystanders, who had just arrived.

"What do you think you're all doing to Echizen?" a fierce voice asked. This person sounded familiar.

Another person gave a snort. "You guys really have no shame, picking on an injured player. If you're all so confident of your skills, I can take on all of you. I'll take Echizen's place."

Someone gently helped Ryoma to stand. "Are you alright, Echizen?" the person asked.

Ryoma then recognized who was speaking. "Tachibana-san?" he asked.

"Aa. It's me." Tachibana led Ryoma back to the Seigaku captain's frantic guide.

Ryoma sat gratefully on the bench, hoping to recover a little before he started walking again. What was Tachibana doing here? Wait a minute; if Tachibana was here, then the person challenging those buffoons would most likely be…

"Yare yare…you're pitting all ten of you against me at once. Let's see…oh well. Just one shot would be enough to beat all of you." Ryoma only knew one player who would make predictions like that during a match. The person served, aiming towards the centre of the ten players, and surely enough, all of them collided while trying to return it, causing a mass pileup on the other side of the court.

No matter how they tried to fight against the challenger, he would easily predict how many shots were needed and would then beat them flat.

Less than a few minutes later, the person walked out. "They're really big babies, aren't they, Tachibana? Konbanwa, Samurai junior."

"If I remember you…you're the guy who was badly defeated by Tezuka-buchou last year…" Ryoma said. He couldn't recall the person's name, but all that mattered was that he recalled the person himself, right?

The man twitched, while Tachibana laughed. "At least he remembered who you are, Chitose."

"I suppose. Let's go somewhere else to talk. The ambience here is horrible." Chitose said, throwing a glance at all the fallen Hoteru High players.

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"By the way, what are you doing here, Tachibana-san?" Ryoma asked.

The four of them were now seated in one of the cafes, and the two senior high students had treated Ryoma to lunch.

"You would have to thank your vice-captain for that. He had been bugging my sister about you so often that she gave me a call to request that I check up on you. I'm glad I did though. Looks like you really have a lot of enemies."

"Ceh. Those people are just sore losers. I can't wait to fight against them again once I've recovered." Ryoma mumbled.

He chuckled slightly as he pictured what Momoshiro's reaction would be if his vice-captain knew that he was bullied here. He was grateful to have such a best friend who would be so concerned for him.

Tachibana set down his drink. "One thing though. I noticed that you collapsed halfway back there. What's going on?"

Ryoma did not answer him, and Tachibana turned to Phillip. The blonde guide gave a sigh. "He must have been trying to activate the Pinnacle of Perfection."

"Why would that cause him to collapse?" Chitose asked, raising an eyebrow. As far as he knew, the three doors of the state of self-actualization were not harmful to health.

Ryoma set his glass down with a loud 'thunk'. "I don't have the Pinnacle of Perfection anymore." He muttered.

"EH?" Both Tachibana and Chitose exclaimed at that.

"It's his head injuries. Somehow, they're more serious than we had thought, and this is one of the effects. He cannot use the Pinnacle of Perfection. It's almost as if this ability is completely removed from him." Phillip explained.

Tachibana turned the only other state of self-actualization user at the table. "Do you know anything about this, Chitose?"

The Pinnacle of Great Wisdom player looked thoughtful. "As far as I know, once you've managed to reach the Pinnacle of Perfection, you're considered a perfect tennis player already. However, if someone, say, decided to give up tennis and not practice for a long time, the doors of the Muga No Kyouchi will close on that person again. I don't think this is the case for Echizen-kun. I would have to guess that he had somehow forgotten about the skill, because of his head injuries."

Ryoma gave a soft "Ch.", lowering his racket. The two senior high players at the table could see that the Seigaku captain was upset, and the two of them exchanged looks.

"Echizen. We'll help you with your training. With any luck, you might be able to reopen the door." Tachibana said finally.

Chitose nodded. "It would be disappointing to lose such a rare skill. I was hoping to play against you, once you've entered senior high. Ah well, for now I'll just have to settle with defeating Tezuka."

Ryoma stiffened at his boyfriend's name. He had been trying not to think about the brunette, knowing that once he started, he wouldn't stop pining for Kunimitsu. Too late though, and now he sat there with his head bowed.

"Echizen?" Tachibana noticed how quiet he had become, and was getting concerned. Phillip gave a weak laugh, as he knew what was the cause.

"Don't worry about him. He'll be alright in about 15 minutes."

Chitose placed his fingers under his chin. Hmm…he should be able to guess what was going on in Ryoma's mind. Nothing could beat his absolute prediction.

"Saa…I wonder what would Tezuka say if he heard about you losing the P.O.P." he suddenly stated, and surely enough, Ryoma was getting gloomier by the second.

Chitose smiled. 'Now I see.' He thought. He kept that to himself though, as he severely doubted Tachibana would find that amusing.

"Tezuka would be able to understand, I'm sure. I don't think he would look at Echizen any differently just because he had lost the P.O.P. Tezuka's a fair person." Tachibana gave his opinion.

"Would you stop saying that name already…" Ryoma muttered, getting to his feet.

"Let's start practice. I don't want to waste another moment." He mumbled. He had to get his mind occupied, or he might just start breaking things in the café.

XXX

"Echizen!" Tachibana caught the boy as he wobbled unsteadily on his feet. Ryoma had been really stubborn, as he kept trying to reactivate the state of self-actualization, pushing his mind to its limits.

"Looks like it's gone for good after all." Chitose muttered softly to himself, making sure that Ryoma was not able to hear him.

To his surprise, he heard Ryoma's scowl, even though the boy was so far away from him. "Who's losing what for good? I've opened the door once. I will open it again."

"Echizen. Stop that!" Tachibana scolded as Ryoma tried to reactivate it, and nearly collapsed again. Ryoma's scowl was getting worse. He hated feeling weak, and collapsing to him was a sign of weakness.

Chitose left Tachibana to do all the training, as he was thinking about something. How was Ryoma able to hear him from so far away, and he had been speaking so softly.

With that, he walked over to the two. "Echizen-kun. Are your tennis skills measured only by the Pinnacle of Perfection? Since when have you become so dependent on the Ten'i Muhou no Kiwami?" he asked.

Ryoma shook his head angrily. "How would you understand? How would you feel if you've suddenly lost your Pinnacle of Great Wisdom?" he shot back.

Chitose sighed. The Seigaku captain was feeling helpless, so he couldn't blame him for acting so recklessly. He placed a hand on Ryoma's shoulder, giving a squeeze.

"Calm down. There's no use crying over spilt milk. We do not know if your skill would return. For now, just concentrate on recovering. I've had some suspicions that all is not lost for you, as I think you've managed to gain a new ability."

Ryoma stiffened. "What are you talking about?" He asked dully.

"Tachibana. Phillip-kun. Could the two of you stand over there a while? Tachibana, lower your voice and strike a conversation with Phillip-kun." Chitose instructed, gently moving Ryoma away from the two of them.

Tachibana gave him an inquisitive look, though he obeyed anyway.

Once Chitose couldn't hear their voices anymore, he stopped. "Now then, samurai junior. What do you think they're saying?"

Ryoma was quiet for a while. Not too long later, he snarled. "Phillip! I do not talk in my sleep!" His sudden yell startled both Tachibana and Phillip, causing them to jump.

"My gosh, he can hear us?" Tachibana yelled over to Chitose, who was now leading Ryoma back to them.

"Aa. I was surprised too. I've read somewhere that if you lose one of your senses; your other senses would take over, becoming more powerful. I would have to say that your sense of hearing is stronger now that you've lost your sight." Chitose explained.

Ryoma took in that information, pondering about it. Chitose patted his arm. "Clear your mind and concentrate. You should be able to hear a lot of things."

Ryoma obeyed, and surely enough, he could hear the rustling of the wind, the faint chirping of birds, and a whole lot of other noises nature had to offer him.

He could also hear the faint 'whoosh' of the tennis ball pelting towards his face, and he reached out and caught it easily. Chitose. His instincts told him Chitose was the devil who threw the ball in the first place. Almost immediately he realized what was Chitose trying to do. Apparently it wasn't just his hearing that had heightened. His increased senses had caused yet one more of his ability to evolve to a level that even he didn't know was possible. His _instincts_.

"Well then. I believe your level of tennis would be able to return to your former level in no time. Practice? Anyone?" Chitose was already moving to the tennis courts.

Ryoma smiled. For the first time in a long while, he truly smiled. 'Arigatou. Chitose.'

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Weeks later, Ryoma had shown great improvement, as both Tachibana and Chitose helped to train him. It was more difficult to fight the Pinnacle of Great Wisdom user, though, as his absolute predictions were near flawless.

However, Ryoma was a highly unpredictable person, with his eternally changing tennis styles, so he had put up a good fight.

"Honestly, I don't know which of you is a more fearsome opponent. You or Tezuka?" Chitose complained, wiping his forehead. Tachibana was adjusting the strings to his racket, which had gone out of place during his match against the tennis prodigy.

"Mada Mada Sune." Ryoma replied, using the more polite version of 'mada mada dane'. Chitose had not gone all out against him yet, that was for sure.

Tachibana kept his racket back in his bag. He straightened up, turning to Ryoma. "We'll try to come over whenever we're able to. Take care, Echizen."

"Usu." He could hear them leaving.

"They're really nice people, aren't they?" Phillip smiled.

"Aa. The ones approaching us next are not though." Ryoma replied.

"The ones approaching us…oh my goat…" Phillip's eyes narrowed when he saw that the Hoteru players were back. All of them had a gleam of vengeance in their eyes.

"Yo. It's been a while, Echizen Ryoma. Getting any better yet?" the captain sneered.

Ryoma put a hand on Phillip's shoulders to stop him from launching at the senior high players.

"Let's have a match. If I win, all of you will leave and never return to this place again. If I lose, I will give all of you autographs for free. How about it?" Ryoma challenged, and Phillip nearly fainted with worry. This cocky brat must have a limit when it comes to arrogance. Did Ryoma have a death wish or something?

The captain spat on the ground. "What did you say?!"

"One set match. Anyone going first?" Ryoma asked casually. He couldn't wait to pound their faces. It was to get back at them for what they did to him weeks ago.

"You're all hopeless. I'll play against you, brat." The captain himself went first.

Again, he used his cheap tactics, aiming for Ryoma's injured arm. This time, Ryoma had detected the shot way before it had even crossed the net, and he returned it with a Drive A.

"The same tricks won't work on me again. Baka." Ryoma said coldly. With his increased senses and instincts, he easily beat the other captain.

All of other club members suffered the same fate, as none of them could even score a point against Ryoma. The Seigaku captain smirked. Revenge was sweet.

Once he had beaten all of them to the ground, he calmly walked out. "This is boring. I would rather go back to my old training spot."

"Very well then, Echizen-sama." Phillip threw a look back over his shoulder, silently cheering to see all the Hoteru High players lying on the courts.

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This time, when Phillip went to buy some Ponta, he made sure to drag Ryoma along with him.

"Sankyuu." Ryoma muttered as Phillip dropped the can of drink into his hands.

Phillip took a sip of his can of green tea. "In such a short time, you're already able to play to your old standard. You're definitely better than what I've read about you in the tennis magazines." He gave a compliment.

Ryoma snorted. "This is not my old level of tennis. Not yet anyway."

As the both of them walked back to Ryoma's training spot, the green-haired prodigy halted in his steps.

"What is it?" Phillip asked.

Ryoma frowned. "There's someone over there." He said.

Both of them approached cautiously. Phillip's eyes narrowed when he saw that indeed, a brunette stood there. He watched as the brunette picked up Ryoma's racket, which had been left on the bench. To his horror, the brown-haired stranger had then used Ryoma's racket to practice against the wall.

"This really is too much! First bullies now thieves? Stay here, and don't show yourself, Echizen-sama. I'll drive him away." With that, Phillip lunged over, attacking the stranger.

Ryoma said nothing. His instincts told him that there was something familiar about this person, especially the sounds of the guy's shots against the wall.

"Phillip…" he called out, as he realized just who was using his racket.

Too late, as the blonde had already reached the guy. "Hey, Thief!" Phillip had begun attacking.

Ryoma hurriedly rushed to stop him, though someone else had beaten him to it.

"Stop this at once, Phillip. That's my club captain Tezuka Kunimitsu you're hitting."

The Monkey King's voice had an immediate effect on Ryoma's guide, who stopped fighting at once. Phillip muttered hurried apologies to Tezuka, who did not make a sound at all.

Ryoma decided to come to the aid of his guide. "Please forgive him, buchou. Phillip is only doing his job as my bodyguard."

It was like a dream come true for him. His Kunimitsu was in Kyuushu, and who knows what Tezuka was doing here. Not that Ryoma disliked it though. On the contrary, he was hard pressed to not throw himself at the Kanto High captain.

Speaking of glomping, the next moment he found himself wrapped in the arms of a certain hyperactive redhead acrobatic player. "Ochibi!" the senior high player grinned.

Ryoma could tell, from his hearing, that he was not the only one there. "You're all here." He was glad to know that the whole Kanto High team had decided to pay him a visit.

Not surprisingly, Oishi was the first to fuss over him. Ryoma tried his best to be polite as he replied to his seniors' questions. He was anxiously waiting for Kunimitsu to say something.

His boyfriend was silent, and Ryoma shifted slightly, having more than a hundred questions he had wanted to ask Kunimitsu. He vaguely wondered how his boyfriend was coping since the last time they were together. Ryoma knew he was rather cruel to not keep in contact with Kunimitsu, but he didn't want to be a distraction to him.

Atobe seemed to have lost his patience as their silence dragged on. He announced that Ryoma was to stay in one of his mansions with them for the few days they were in Kyuushu, and Ryoma was only too happy to agree.

Also, during their stay there, Kunimitsu would replace Phillip as Ryoma's guide, much to the green-haired captain's delight. Not that Phillip was a bad guide, since he did his job splendidly. Ryoma just preferred Kunimitsu.

As Tezuka took Ryoma's left hand with his right, the Seigaku captain could hear some snickers behind them. He gave a sigh. Honestly, his senpai-tachi were acting like a bunch of teenage fangirls, with them being such busybodies.

He ignored them though, as right now, he was feeling contented to be with his boyfriend once again.

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The following morning, Ryoma woke up after a good night's rest. He felt warm lips against his forehead, and knew that Tezuka had just entered his room to give him a wake-up call.

"It's 8 already, Ryoma. Everyone else is already awake." Tezuka coaxed the younger boy.

The prodigy sat up and stretched, getting more awake as he remembered that Kunimitsu had promised to play against him in a match today.

Yesterday, he and Kunimitsu chatted quite a lot to catch up on old times. Ryoma had conveniently left out a few things in his conversations though, such as him being bullied by some ruffians, and him losing the Pinnacle of Perfection. He had not wanted Kunimitsu to worry over him.

Kunimitsu had been concerned over how Ryoma was faring in Kyuushu, and Ryoma had reassured him that he was doing well. Though when Ryoma mentioned about Phillip, Tezuka had been oddly irritated. He was only stating the truth when he mentioned that Phillip slept in his room, and that there was only one bed in the room. Phillip slept on a futon on the floor, of course, but as Tezuka didn't ask, he did not bother to mention that.

Ryoma gave a yawn, clearing the sleepiness from his head. Tezuka guided him to the bathroom to allow him to wash up. Ryoma had to stifle a chuckle when he thought of poor Kunimitsu having to become his babysitter.

Tezuka was doing an excellent job as Ryoma's temporary guide, as he helped Ryoma to move about with such gentleness, Phillip couldn't even come close to being compared with him. Kunimitsu also had the added bonus of Ryoma's trust, which Phillip didn't have until after Ryoma had warmed up to him.

"Ah, Tezuka. You've managed to wake ochibi up after all." Kikumaru's voice greeted Ryoma's ears once Tezuka led him to the dining room for breakfast.

"Ohayou." Ryoma greeted, his senses telling him that most likely all the eyes of those at the table were on Kunimitsu and him.

Atobe snapped his fingers, and his servants hurried to serve breakfast at the table.

Ryoma twitched slightly. He smelt toast and eggs. Western breakfast again…?

"What's wrong, Ryoma?" Tezuka asked quietly.

"No. It's nothing." He muttered, picking up his toast.

Ryoma didn't notice the looks everyone was exchanging at the table. Phillip silently mouthed to them that Ryoma liked a Japanese breakfast.

Tezuka got to his feet immediately. "Please excuse me for a moment." He said as he left the dining area.

Not too long later, the scent of grilled fish wafted through the air, and instantly Ryoma's toast tasted like cardboard to him. He maintained a passive face though, as he could hear his seniors snickering.

"Here you go, Ryoma." Tezuka set down a tray before the younger boy, and the heavenly aroma of his favourite food invaded his senses - grilled fish, rice and miso soup; his perfect breakfast to jumpstart his day.

"Arigatou…" he felt mildly guilty at the thought of not eating his western breakfast, as that would be so wasteful of him.

Tezuka took Ryoma's western breakfast. "I'll finish this for you." He reassured the younger boy.

"Doomo." Ryoma knew that even Tezuka should be able to hear the snickering around the table by now.

"Mou, Fuji. Tezuka's really spoiling ochibi nya…" Kikumaru whispered. Of course, Ryoma could hear him.

"Aa. Tezuka might look like a wooden block, and act like one, but he can be pretty nice to people he's close to, especially Echizen. This really is rather expressive of him though. Maybe because he's already familiar with all our presence, and doesn't mind showing his affections to Echizen." Ryoma was getting redder as Fuji spoke on.

He was glad that Atobe had changed the subject not too long later. "Ne, Tezuka. What are your plans for the club today?"

Tezuka set down his eating utensils. "You've mentioned that we're here in Kyuushu to train for the Kantou Games, so let's use your tennis courts."

Kikumaru looked severely disappointed. "Ceh…we come all the way to Kyuushu just to be cooped up in Atobe's mansion? I was hoping to go sightseeing."

Tezuka frowned. "Kikumaru. We're not here for a holiday…"

"I don't think we have that many chances to come over here. Why don't we go on a short tour later? We do have the whole day after all." Asakawa added.

Fuji chuckled. "I've brought my camera with me. It will be a good idea to take some pictures later."

Tezuka wondered if he should agree to this. Just then, he felt someone touch his arm and looked down.

Ryoma was smiling slightly. "Senpai-tachi really sound so eager. Why not go along with them just this time, Kunimitsu?" He asked softly.

Tezuka relented immediately. He looked up to see all the hopeful gazes around the table.

"Very well. We'll have training once we return in the evening." Tezuka instructed.

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"Hoi hoi! You're all so slow nya! Come on, Kantarou. I'll race you!" Kikumaru yelled, and Kanto High's speedy player gladly accepted the challenge.

"Eiji! You're not familiar with this place at all. Come back here before you get yourself lost." Oishi was racing after the two of them, as he tried to stop them from straying off from the team.

Tezuka had been very careful as he led Ryoma around. Whenever there was something in Ryoma's path, even before Phillip could yell a warning, Kunimitsu had already beaten him to it, shifting Ryoma out of harm's way. Ryoma smiled slightly. It wasn't a bad feeling at all, being under Kunimitsu's protection.

"Kyuushu sushi! I wonder what they taste like. Oishi, come on!" Kikumaru had already dragged his doubles partner off again.

"I believe there should be a tennis court nearby." Ryoma suddenly spoke up, as he listened intently.

Tezuka knew that the boy was more than eager to play against him, and he was torn between the desire to challenge Ryoma in a match, and the responsibility of watching over his teammates. Kikumaru and Asakawa had run off to who knows which store by now.

"Let's split up. I'll keep an eye on those who wish to tour around the city. Tezuka-kun. I suppose you're going off to the tennis courts." Yamato suggested.

Tezuka nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Yamato-senpai."

The group who went of for the city-tour consisted of Oishi, Kikumaru, Asakawa, Yamato and Kira. The ones who went to the tennis courts were Echizen, Tezuka, Fuji, Atobe and Phillip.

"Meet back here by 3. Minna, yudan sezu ni ikkou." Tezuka called after his teammates.

"Ok!" The next moment, Kikumaru and Asakawa had already run off, and the three in charge of looking after them had to race to catch up with them.

"Shall we make a move on, Tezuka?" Atobe sounded rather impatient.

"Aa."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tezuka had a match against Echizen. In another court next to theirs, Fuji had a match against Atobe.

The Kanto High captain was obviously impressed by his boyfriend's level of tennis, as Ryoma returned all his shots effortlessly.

"Have I missed out something when I wasn't around?" Tezuka asked, returning a rather tricky shot from Ryoma.

The Seigaku captain smirked. "I seemed to have missed out something as well. Since when are your shots so fast?"

"I've been practicing. I would say the same goes to you though." Tezuka used his zero-shiki, scoring a point.

"Let's just say I found a way to overcome my current handicapped state." Ryoma replied.

The match went on. Tezuka did not go easy on Ryoma, knowing that his boyfriend would be insulted if he did. Ryoma in turn played with full strength, using it as a way to reassure his boyfriend that he was doing all right during his stay here.

All of them stopped when it was time for lunch. Atobe's servants had packed them all some high-class bento, and now all of them sat under one of the shades of the trees, enjoying their meal.

"Buchou, if I'm not mistaken, the Kantou Games for the senior high players would fall roughly on the same dates as our junior high group right?" Ryoma asked suddenly.

"Aa." Tezuka affirmed.

Ryoma took a sip of Ponta. "How nice. Well, you'd all better grab the gold medal while you still can. I will chase up to all your level once I've recovered." He declared arrogantly.

Atobe smirked. "Hmph. Ore-sama will still be a thousand times better than you, so it doesn't make any difference."

"Hmm? Then I'll be a million times better than you." Ryoma corrected.

"Then I'll still be a billion times ahead of you." Atobe retorted.

"Stop it, the two of you." Tezuka sighed, while Fuji chuckled. He had been expecting this kind of conversation, since the two most arrogant tennis players were present here.

As the two continued bickering, they didn't notice a few young park-goers playing nearby.

One of the children began shaking a bottle of gassy drink, and Ryoma stopped bickering as his ears picked up the sounds.

"Ryoma?" Tezuka asked, noticing that the younger boy was listening intently.

"I think it's best if you dodge…" Ryoma began, though his warning came too late, as the boy opened the bottle.

Almost immediately, the senior high students and Phillip found themselves drenched in fizzy orange juice. Ryoma had managed to dodge beforehand, so he was the only one spared.

Atobe gave an immediate groan, eyeing his soaked shirt with disgust. "You're all going to pay for this…" the Ice Emperor looked like he was going to erupt soon.

The young offender had paled at seeing Atobe's face. "Gomenasai!" He apologized.

Tezuka studied the condition of his clothes briefly before turning to stare at the boy. After giving the kids a short lecture on how one shouldn't play with fizzy drinks, he accepted their apology and sent them on their way.

"Oi, Tezuka? Shouldn't they pay for all these stains? You're being too soft on them." Atobe said disapprovingly.

"They're only children. They'll make mistakes." Tezuka replied.

"Now, now. I think it's best if we try to clean this up a little. It's going to be uncomfortable when our clothes are all sticky like that." Fuji suggested.

"Aa." With that, Tezuka turned to Ryoma. "Are you coming with us?"

"I'll stay. You'll only be gone a short while anyway." Ryoma continued sipping on his drink.

"Very well. We'll be right back." With that, Tezuka and the others jogged off.

As Ryoma waited for them under the tree, he couldn't help dozing slightly as he was tired from practice. Besides, the cool breeze felt very comfortable against his skin. With that, he decided to take a short nap until the others returned.

XXX

"Buchou…is that guy really so terrible?" A member of the Hoteru High tennis club asked.

The captain nodded. "If he wasn't so powerful, I wouldn't have to take all the club members here now, wouldn't I? While we cannot beat him in skills, at least we can beat him in numbers."

The 30 members of the tennis club now made their way to the possible places Ryoma might be, namely his usual training spots. To the captain's dismay, he couldn't find the Seigaku captain anywhere.

"That's odd. Where could he be?" he wondered to himself.

Jien snickered. "Maybe he's finally learnt his lesson, and decided to stay obediently in that rehabilitation center?"

"Perhaps…no…isn't that him?" They finally found their target, who was sleeping under one of the trees.

Immediately the captain began surveying the place. Where was that bodyguard of Echizen's? And also, were those two scary players around?

Once he was sure that the coast was clear, he walked over to the junior high player. "My, my. What do we have here? Someone lazing off during practice?"

All of them leered down at their prey, who was rudely awakened.

"What do you want?" Ryoma asked, sounding irritated.

The captain snatched Ryoma's cap off his head, and before the boy could get it back, he had already passed the cap to one of his members.

"We were just passing by and decided to stop by to say hi. Where is that bodyguard of yours, huh?"

Ryoma tried to guess how many of them were there this time. He roughly guessed that there were easily over 20 people present there.

"Why the silence, boy? Where's that usual arrogance of yours, huh? Why don't you go against all of us?" The captain asked.

Ryoma frowned. "Ceh. You're not worth my time, considering you're all really mada mada."

"Why you…how dare you speak to me like that!" he seized the front of Ryoma's shirt and raised his fist. Before he could harm the boy, however, another hand caught his in a crushing grip.

"What's going on here?" A rather stern voice demanded.

Thinking that it was a passerby, as that did not sound like the voice of Ryoma's guard, the captain turned around to snap at that person. "Mind you own business…Tezuka Kunimitsu!"

The Hoteru High's captain's face was drained of all colour as he hurriedly let Ryoma go and was now backing away rapidly, as if he was trying to hide behind his teammates. Tezuka strode forward, putting himself between his boyfriend and the high school students.

"Are you alright, Ryoma?" The brunette asked quietly.

"I'm fine." The Seigaku captain replied. He wanted to adjust his cap, but then remembered that it was taken away by the hulking buffoon.

Tezuka noticed that, and now he turned to the club members of the other school. Even though Tezuka was outnumbered 30 to 2, all of them quaked under the deadly glare Tezuka threw at them.

"Who took his cap?" he asked, his tone suggesting that if none of them answered him, he would be doing more than assigning them laps.

The one who had the cap passed it to a teammate hurriedly, and the other guy yelped. Eventually, Ryoma's cap was passed from hand to hand as none of them wished to have anything to do with it, until finally, the cap had somehow landed in the Hoteru captain's hands.

The guy did not even realize the cap was in his hands until he finally figured out why Tezuka looked like he was going to murder him on the spot. With a yelp, he threw it into the air, and Tezuka caught it easily, returning the cap to Ryoma.

"Ehehe…we were just fooling around with him a little. We meant no harm. See ya!" The whole team tried to make a hasty escape, but came to a halt as soon as they had turned around, for more people were blocking their path.

"So these were the ones harassing you and Echizen, ahn?" Atobe asked Phillip, who was standing next to him.

"Aa. It's them." Ryoma's bodyguard identified them with a nod of his head.

Fuji gave his smile, and moments later, his eyes opened. "Saa…Atobe. What do you think we should do with them?" The tensai's voice caused the Hoteru High players to quake.

Atobe inclined his head slightly in Tezuka's direction. "Ore-sama believe it's better if he made the decision. They were bullying his pillar of support after all."

Tezuka had such a killer aura around him that even Atobe and the rest had backed off slightly. "Harassed? These people have been bullying Echizen?"

"Aa. Didn't he mention that to you?" Fuji was fanning the flames, and Ryoma sighed. The cat was out of the bag now.

Surely enough, Tezuka's expressionless mask slipped slightly, and now he looked rather livid.

The Kanto High captain moved so quickly that one moment, he was right in front of Ryoma. The next moment, however, he was standing before the Hoteru captain, and had given him a backhand, knocking him to the ground.

Ryoma winced, knowing from personal experience that _that_ had to hurt.

Before the angered brunette could do anymore harm to the other captain, however, more footsteps approached.

"Tezuka. I think it's best if you calm down a little. They would be our opponents during the Kyuushu Games. Let us deal with them."

The Kanto High captain looked up to see Chitose and Tachibana approaching them. Chitose had been the one speaking.

Tezuka took a deep breath to calm himself. He turned around and walked back to Ryoma, guiding him to Atobe and the rest.

"You all really haven't learnt your lesson yet." Tachibana frowned. He exchanged glances with Chitose.

"I suppose we really would have to teach them a little lesson, or else they would just come back. Oh? In fact, he even brought his whole club with him today." Chitose turned to Tezuka. "What do you think?"

"Aa." Tezuka had taken out his white racket. He gave them all a challenging stare. "We'll use a match to settle this. Since all of you have the guts to challenge a sightless boys, I suppose you could use that courage to play against us as well. Atobe, Fuji."

The tensai chuckled as both he and Atobe walked into the courts with Tezuka. "This is interesting."

The Kanto High players played against the Hoteru High players, knowing that they wouldn't have the chance to do so during the Nationals, as this school would most likely be creamed by Tachibana and Chitose's school first.

Their matches drew the attention of other park-goers, and they watched and pointed as the Hoteru High players lost pathetically to the three inhuman players of K-High.

Each of them took on ten players. Tezuka had just defeated Jien with the same skill Ryoma used, and the poor guy's face looked like it would be permanently imprinted with the shape of a tennis ball at this rate.

"Who's next?"

5 minutes later.

"Who's next?"

Atobe gave a snort as he scored easily.

"Honestly. You're competing in the regionals with this level of tennis? Too naïve!" he scored again with a smash, and his opponent was already too demoralized to continue on. Atobe gave his trademark smirk, staring down at his opponent. "Be awed by ore-sama's beautiful skills."

In the next court, Fuji took pleasure in drawing out his matches deliberately, and pinpointing corners. None of his poor opponents could finish the match against him, as all of them collapsed from exhaustion as Fuji made them run all over the courts.

"Oro? You're too tired to continue on? Saa…who's next then?" His eyes opened, as he pinned a stare at his remaining opponents, who gulped.

The Hoteru players suffered a humiliating defeat by the hands of the K-High players that day. As they ran off with promises of 'You'll regret this!', Tezuka was mildly satisfied, as he knew they would not be returning anytime soon. The humiliation should serve them as a harsh lesson.

XXX

"What are you doing here anyway?" Not surprisingly, the Kanto High players asked Tachibana and Chitose the same question Ryoma threw at them a month back.

Again, Tachibana had to explain how his sister had made a request for him to keep an eye on the Seigaku captain. Tezuka gave a very, very tiny, grateful smile to the former Fudoumine captain, and by the time Tachibana had rubbed his eyes to see if he had imagined it, the smile had disappeared.

"What about you people?" Tachibana asked.

Fuji smiled at that. "Atobe had decided to visit one of his mansions here, and had somehow persuaded Tezuka (via a certain peasant's game) to let the whole team visit Kyuushu. Oishi is dealing with the other team, who had gone sightseeing, I believe."

Atobe gave a casual shrug. "Well, it's good to step out of Tokyo once in a while. Besides, I'm sure that Tezuka here was most eager to see how Echizen was faring." His words earned himself a glare from the brunette captain.

Chitose gave a knowing smile. "I see. Ne, Tezuka. Do you still remember my sister Miyuki?"

Tezuka nodded. "Aa."

Chitose gave a grin. "That's good. You know, you really should have told us that you were coming to Kyuushu. My sister has been talking about you so often. She would be delighted to see her dear thief brother again, I'm sure."

Tezuka's eyes narrowed. He could see, from Chitose's facial expression, that the former Shitenhouji ace was exaggerating. Ryoma, unfortunately, could not see Chitose's face, and took his words at a literal level. Tezuka winced as Ryoma deliberately tightened his grip, crushing the brunette's hand.

"That's nice, buchou. You have such a doting fan." Ryoma's tone showed that he was obviously jealous.

Chitose did not even bother to hide his grin as he watched the drama unfold between the two boyfriends. Tezuka was trying to explain himself to Ryoma, who had gone into 'brat' mode and was not listening to him. The Kanto High captain's glasses flashed in Chitose's direction. If he ever met up with Chitose in a match again, he would definitely repay him for this 'favour'.

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Tokyo (Mid-July)

"Mou, Takeshi. You really don't have to hold on to my hand like that." Ann was blushing furiously as her boyfriend walked her to school that day.

Momoshiro gave a laugh. "I don't see anything wrong with this. We're dating after all, and I want the whole world to know about us."

Ann sighed. She glanced down at the book in her hands, reading softly to herself.

Momoshiro put one arm around her shoulders affectionately. "You're having a class presentation today? What's the title about?"

"Hmm…public displays of affection should be banned in Japan." She immediately replied playfully.

"I'm hurt. Is this an indirect hint that you don't want to hold my hand in public?" Momoshiro pouted.

Ann shook her head in exasperation. "Honestly, Takeshi. Don't think you'd be able to get away all the time with that look of yours. Also, it's difficult for me to do concentrate on this passage with everyone staring at us like that. I'll meet you after school, k?"

Momoshiro gave a mock salute. "Your wish is my command." They had reached the gates of Fudoumine. Ann fumbled slightly as she tried to keep her text back in her bag, and she accidentally dropped the book on the floor.

Momoshiro picked it up and handed it back to her. "You're so nervous, Ann. Don't worry about it. Knowing you, you'd most likely have practiced your speech at least five times already. You'll do fine. Go on and show them what you've practiced then."

Ann brightened up. "Hai. I'll be going then. Wish me luck."

"Good luck…oh wait, Ann. I have a lucky charm to give you." Momoshiro stopped her before she could move away.

"Huh?" Before she could ask him what he wanted to give her, she knew the answer already, as the next moment, Momoshiro had bent down to give her a quick kiss.

Ann's cheeks exploded with heat as her schoolmates' jaws dropped. She could hear whispers breaking out immediately.

"That uniform…he's from Seishun Gakuen…"

"Oh? Isn't he Momoshiro Takeshi from Seigaku tennis club?"

Momoshiro grinned, looking rather proud of himself. "That's for good luck. Well then, go on with your class presentation then." He jogged off.

Ann was still rooted to the spot, her face nearly the same shade as Kamio's hair. The speech she had memorized had long flown out of her head already.

"Now how am I supposed to do the presentation? Baka Takeshi!"

XXX

Momoshiro hummed to himself. Time for practice. He had called up Kaidou beforehand to ask him to take over for a while, as he would be late for practice. The mamushi had grudgingly agreed, after a brief fight over the phone with the temporary captain, of course.

As he made his way to the gates of Seishun Gakuen, someone, who was coming from the opposite direction, had run into him full tilt, and both of them fell to the ground.

"That hurts…what's the rush? Eh? Kachiro?" Momoshiro recognized him immediately.

The sophomore regular looked completely out of breath. He tried to get his breathing to normal before speaking. "Bad news! Momo-chan buchou dai! It's Kirihara! He's in our school now, and he's thrashing the tennis club!"

"Nani?!" Momoshiro picked himself off the ground and was now dashing to school, with Kachiro right next to him.

"Why is he in Seishun Gakuen?" Momoshiro asked, hoping to know the events that preceded this.

"I have no idea what had happened. We were having practice as usual this morning, and Kirihara-san had suddenly walked up to the club, demanding to have a match with Momo-chan buchou dai. When Arai-senpai tried to chase him away he had entered the courts, and began firing shots that knocked our ball carts over. All of us regulars tried to stop him, but none of us were able to win him in a match. I believe Kaidou-senpai is facing him now."

Momoshiro quickened his pace. "Comparing their levels, I would say that Kaidou would not be able to beat him, but at least he would be able to put up a very good fight. Gah, why did this have to happen on a day Inui-senpai isn't around?"

They soon made it to school, dashing to the courts. Surely enough, Kirihara Akaya stood there, looking rather smug. Kaidou looked like he was injured. Then again, that was unavoidable, considering who his opponent was.

"Yarou!" Kaidou had begun the match again.

"Yamero, Kaidou!" Momoshiro barked an order the minute he reached the courts. Angrily, he pushed open the doors and stepped in, interrupting the match.

Kirihara turned over slightly. "Ah, looks like the captain is back. Wonderful. I was getting bored of fighting against your lackeys." He gave a slight sweep of his left arm, indicating towards the rest of the regular members.

Not a single one of them was free from injuries, except Kachiro, but that was because the sophomore went to look for Momoshiro. Tsun and Itsuki had bruises on their arms, while the chessmaster was knocked out, as Kirihara turned the whole chessboard over when his shot whacked the sophomore in the head. Arai and Katsuo looked like they had been catching Kirihara's shots with their body, as both of them could hardly stand.

Momoshiro turned his glare to the Rikkai Dai junior high captain. "What are you doing here, Kirihara. You have no business here, so leave at once!"

"Now now, Momoshiro. I was just dropping by for a visit, and I've taken an interest in how the club was doing, considering both the captain and vice-captain wasn't even around to supervise it. Besides, Yanagi-senpai had mentioned before that it's always important to observe your opponents first. I daresay Seigaku would be facing against Rikkai Dai during the tournaments, so I'm only here to collect data, as Yanagi-senpai would put it."

"Yarou." Kaidou wanted to continue on with the match, but Momoshiro stopped him.

"Enough, mamushi. It wouldn't do if you're injured before the Kantou Games. We're already short on players. We do not need to lose more." Momoshiro then turned back to Kirihara.

"Looks like it can't be helped eh, it can't be helped. Very well. You're here today to challenge me, it seems. I will accept your challenge, but after this, you must leave." Momoshiro stated his terms.

Kirihara snickered. "Hai, hai. I'm getting bored of playing against little kids anyway."

Momoshiro braced himself for Kirihara's serve. The next moment, Kirihara had fired such a deadly serve, it had bounced toward Momoshiro's face.

"Knuckle Serve! Watch out, Momo-senpai!" Kachiro yelled.

Momoshiro had managed to shield himself against the serve, though it had knocked his racket out of his hands.

"Oh. So sorry there. My serve is so unpredictable, even I can't control it sometimes." Kirihara taunted.

As the game went on, the number of injuries Momoshiro had on his limbs and face increased as well.

'That guy…he's not here just for a simple match. He had another purpose for playing against all of us like this…' Momoshiro thought. Not too long later, it hit him. Kirihara was crushing them now to kill their morale before the tournaments. This showed that Kirihara saw Seigaku as a threat to Rikkai Dai, and was trying to weaken them before they faced each other.

"If you think we're that weak, I'll prove you wrong!" Momoshiro used the Jackknife.

"Such a simple attack…nani?!" When Kirihara tried to return the shot, he realized it was much stronger than it looked, and his racket was knocked out of his hands.

Momoshiro returned an eye for an eye, and soon, even Kirihara wasn't unscathed.

"How scary. Looks like Momoshiro buchou dai is angry already. Looks like I'm in big trouble." Kirihara mocked again.

He prepared for another Knuckle Serve. "Hmph. Seigaku really isn't as powerful as it was last year, especially since your trump card is not around now. Rikkai Kings will be the winner this round!"

Before he could continue on with the match, however, Kirihara's phone rang in his bag.

The Rikkai Dai captain promptly walked out of the courts. "Well, I think I've had enough fun for today, so I'll let you all go this time. Good luck with the Kantou Games, Seigaku regular-tachi."

The Rikkai third year went to his bag and retrieved his phone. "Hello?"

Without realizing it, he accidentally switched it to loudspeaker mode.

"AKA-CHAN! WHERE ARE YOU?!" a frantic voiced exploded from the other end, and Kirihara dropped his phone in surprise.

"Ah…I'm…er…out for a while. I have another call coming in. Bye." Kirihara switched to the second line, but as he had still forgotten about his loudspeaker, the next call was not better than the first.

"Buchou? Where are you, Kirihara-buchou? Why aren't you at practice?" A few voices could be heard over the other end, presumably Kirihara's fellow regulars.

"I'll be right there. Bye!" The devil Kirihara looked highly embarrassed by the onslaught of phone calls. He straightened up, trying to put on a smug mask. "Well then. I'll be going off now." He tried to stride out of the courts casually, only bump right into someone. Slowly, Kirihara glanced up. _Oh sh-!_

"Aka-chan! Thank goodness you're alright!" The Seigaku regulars gaped as the devil Kirihara was given a crushing hug by a taller, more muscular version of himself.

"A-aniki…how did you know I was here?" Kirihara asked weakly. He was rapidly losing oxygen, and that wasn't a pleasant feeling.

"I didn't. Did you know how worried I was? I went searching for you all over! Hyotei Gakuen, Yamabuki, Fudoumine, St. Rudolph. Everywhere! How could you do this to your poor onii-chan? If you want to come to Seigaku, at least give me a call first."

It was very disturbing to see the much larger guy having kittens over the devil Kirihara, and it was even more disturbing to see the devil Kirihara looking mildly afraid of the older teen.

"Ehehe…let's say my trip to Seishun Gakuen was a coincidence. Now then, let's go…" Kirihara looked like he desperately wanted to leave this place before his brother embarrassed him any further.

Unfortunately, lady luck was not smiling on him that day. "Oh? So you're here because you fell asleep on the bus and missed the stop?" His brother realized. Kirihara looked like he had just received an arrow to his head.

The Seigaku regulars exchanged glances. So _that's_ why Kirihara had ended up at this place.

Kirihara's brother surveyed the place, and he stopped fawning over his younger brother immediately as he took in the state of destruction in the courts. Tennis balls were strewn everywhere, and the Seigaku regulars all looked like they had just participated in a boxing match.

"You did this, didn't you, Akaya." Kirihara shivered. Whenever his brother used his name instead of his nickname, it usually meant that his brother was angry.

The older Kirihara marched his younger brother over to where Momoshiro stood, and forced his brother's head down in a bow.

"I apologize for my brother's insolence. I'm willing to pay for the damages he had caused here."

Momoshiro blinked. "Er…well…you don't have to, er…"

"Kirihara Akira. Third year, captain of Rikkai Dai Senior High." The older boy told him.

"Kirihara-san. I will admit that your brother has caused a mess here, but as you've already apologized, I will not harp on the subject." Momoshiro told him.

The older Kirihara gave a slight bow. "Thank you. Akaya. Apologize to them, now!"

"Sowee." Kirihara mumbled, looking rather disgruntled. Everyone could only stare at how obedient he had become. The angel had subdued the devil.

"I will take my leave now. Again, I apologize for everything." With that, the Kirihara brothers left, with the older making sure that the younger wouldn't cause trouble again.

After they had left the area, everyone gave a collective sigh of relief.

"That was close. If that guy didn't drag Kirihara off, who knows if he would ever leave?" Katsuo stated.

Itsuki was trying to wake the Chessmaster. "That guy is a complete brute. So he'll be our opponent in the tournaments…" he said thoughtfully.

"Aa." Momoshiro frowned. Kirihara had improved a lot, to be able to take on the regulars like that. No wonder he was last year's ace.

"We'll have to increase practices before the games. We cannot afford to slack off now. You've just seen the strength of one of our future opponents, and there would be others just as powerful as he is." He instructed.

He wondered if they would be able to win Rikkai Dai this round, as none of them could reach Kirihara's level if he got serious. If they don't pull their act together, Seigaku may just lose the Kantou Games even before Echizen could return to them.

To be continued…

A/N: Ehehe…I've put so much fluff in here, it's enough to fill a pillow. Pfft… (Gets kicked in the head by a friend)

Please excuse the lame puns. Am working on the next chapter and very much affected by what I'm going to write.

I've made Tezuka rather OOC in here. Hope no one's going to throw up blood reading that. Even if you do, don't name me as the cause of it.(whistles innocently)

I think a number of you might notice that a lot of the POV in here belong to the senior high group. I've decided to place it here as Life After Seigaku was really too long. Would not do that often though.

Please note that as mentioned, I'm mainly following the manga's storyline, so I'm also following the manga's Kirihara Akaya's characteristics. (In other words, he's still very much a devil, in the anime on the other hand, he seemed to have repented and became an angel.)

**mimikitty**, lol. you might like this chapter, since they went to Kyuushu. Also, there would only be one sequel. I'm not going to be doing companion fics in a long, long time. It can be rather taxing, especially when I have assignments and tests.

**merissala**, lol. I thought it'd be nice if they were named something, so yeah, they're officially the Psycho Pair (in my fic).

**Animestar73**, hai. the Momo X Ann interaction in this chapter was for you. Hope it's ok. (grins)

**Milky Etoile**, hmm…yeah. I think I've overpowered his hearing a little, even more so in this chapter. Oh well. Prince of Tennis anime has a mild touch of supernatural anyway. Ufufufu.

**terriestal-angell**, hmm…I did the trust fall too. I think I nearly flattened my partner, who wasn't prepared to catch me at that time. Ehehe.

**Please read and review. No flames please. Flames will make the page catch fire. Pfft. **(Kicked by pal again)

-Gwyn


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. I only own my OCs.**

**Warning: Contain spoilers for latest manga chapters. Shonen-ai fic. Very long chapter. -.-!!!**

**Pairing: Tezuka X Echizen. Momoshiro X Ann.**

**(This chapter is followed by chapter 18 in Life After Seigaku)**

A/N: I would be putting more focus on the semi-finals and the finals of the Kantou competitions, so I would be mentioning the other competitions only in passing.

Pls read this chapter first, if possible. Otherwise, there will be some spoilers to the events that will happen in this chapter.

At the moment doing a small victory dance after seeing one of the latest manga chapter (chapter 340). Apparently Ryoma showed a hint of Ten'i Muhou no Kiwami, though not quite there yet. He didn't win Kintarou, but he didn't lose to him either, as it was a draw. I can't believe Ryoma split the tennis ball into half … -.-!!!

**Thank you all for your reviews. They helped to keep me going when I'm feeling lazy… :p**

To the story then…

**Echizen, Our Buchou**

By: Gwynhafra

Chapter 16

Kyuushu (End of July)

Phillip's eyes shot open as he jolted awake, having just had a nightmare. Sitting up in his futon, he put a hand to his forehead, trying to calm his head down. Somehow, he had a rather nasty dream of Echizen running away, and his cousin Atobe had sent literally the whole law firm at him, all holding lawsuits against him.

He rubbed his eyes to clear the sleep from them. Looking at his watch, he realized that it was only 5 a.m. Echizen should be waking in another 2 hours. Well, he would have another hour to powernap before he went to get breakfast ready for the both of them.

He looked over to the green-haired boy's bed, and froze.

For all that was left on the bed was a pile of messy blankets. Echizen had somehow done a Houdini, and there was no sign of the younger boy at all.

(A/N: Houdini is the name of a magician, who is known for his disappearing tricks)

"Echizen-sama!" Phillip had leapt to his feet almost immediately. He nearly tripped over a slipper in his haste to double check the bed, as it was still dark. Sure enough, no sign of the boy anywhere.

Already, Phillip was hitting the panic button. His nightmare was coming true! Before he accepted this job as bodyguard, he had prided himself at being eternally calm and collected. However, dealing with this bratty Seigaku captain for over three months had long instilled paranoia in him. The bodyguard did not even bother to change out of his sleepwear as he sped out of the door to look for Ryoma.

The blonde could see that the center was quite deserted, as everyone was probably still in dreamland now. He did pass a few early birds in the hall, and tried to put on a casual front, making it look like he was going for a morning jog instead of a rescue mission. It wouldn't do to create chaos so early in the morning now, would it?

Once he was out of the center, however, he sped up. "Echizen-sama!" Where the devil could he have gone off to? Did those baka Hoteru players sneak into the room and cart him off in the middle of the night? What if someone was holding him for ransom?

He tried looking for the green-haired boy at all the possible places. The usual training spots, the tennis courts, the cafeteria, and even the loo. For all he knew, Ryoma might have tripped and got his head stuck somewhere.

"Echizen-sama. Where on earth are you?" He had been searching for the brat for quite a while now, as the sky looked brighter. It should be nearly 6 am. The doctors would be waking soon, and they definitely would have noticed Ryoma's absence. Phillip's anxiety was increasing. He really didn't know where to look for him. Perhaps he had no other choice but to inform his cousin about this?

As Phillip reached for the hand phone in his pocket, the devil himself jogged calmly past him.

"Ohayou." Ryoma did not even halt in his tracks as he continued on jogging, leaving behind a nearly hyperventilating bodyguard.

"You…you…do you have any idea how worried you've made me? What the devil are you doing up so early? Shouldn't you at least inform me before you start running off by yourself?" Phillip snapped.

At least Ryoma had the decency to stop at that, though he continued jogging on the spot. "I didn't ask for you to be worried over me. You're doing that on your own accord. Besides, you were snoring so soundly, I'd rather not wake you."

'…I give up…this guy is hopeless.' Phillip thought mournfully. He decided not to argue with this bratty captain, knowing from experience that he would never be able to win against Ryoma.

"You haven't answered my question. What are you doing up so early? You usually do not wake until 7." Phillip asked.

Ryoma cocked his head to a side. "Can't you see what I'm doing? Jogging, of course."

'This brat…' Phillip wondered if he could ask one of the doctors here to check his blood pressure. He might be bursting a vein anytime.

Ryoma stopped jogging on the spot as he took a deep breath, exhaled and did some light exercises to cool his muscles down after all that jogging.

"I just felt like jogging. Today's the day, and while I'm not able to participate, I am not going to sit still and do nothing." Ryoma spoke quietly.

"Today's the day…oh." Phillip had just remembered. The Kantou Games.

Ryoma stretched. "Ah well. They're all really mada mada dane compared to me, but Seigaku will have no problem. I'm sure of it." There was a rare hint of pride in his voice as his spoke. Ryoma was a true Seigaku captain at heart.

Phillip shook his head slightly. This was just Ryoma's way of fighting alongside his team, he supposed. "Hai, hai. I'm sure that the competitions would not be starting just yet. It's barely 6 am. Come on now, Echizen-sama. Since we're both awake, we might as well get breakfast before you continue on with your training."

"Usu." Ryoma allowed himself to be steered back inside the building.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kantou Games-competitions grounds

"Seigaku! Fight-O!" Temporary captain Momoshiro led the chant as the Seigaku members arrived that day.

The whole place was bustling with excited whispers as the Seigaku regulars walked up to the counter to check in.

"Seishun Gakuen, here with 8 regulars." Momoshiro reported.

"Very well." The guy affirmed Seigaku's attendance.

As the Seigaku regulars waited for their match, whispers could be heard all around them.

"Isn't that Seishun Gakuen? The one that won the Nationals last year?"

"You mean that Seigaku? The one with the monster Echizen?"

"Hope they're not our opponent. Let's check the boards…"

Already, most of the other schools steered clear of the team. Everyone could recognize that blue and white uniform even from far, and made sure to get out of their way.

To nearly every school's relief, Seigaku wasn't their opponent…well…all schools were relieved except for one though.

XXX

"We'll now be having Singles One. Seishun Gakuen, Kaidou Kaoru. St Rudolph, Fuji Yuuta."

As usual, they had to play all five games against the first opponent, and currently, Seigaku's scores were superior, as they have already won four games.

Yuuta bounced the ball against the ground, throwing Kaidou a glare.

"I won't let Seigaku have 5 wins. Prepare yourself!"

"Fsshh! Just hurry up and serve, Fuji-senpai's little brother." The bandanna-wearing boy began swaying from side to side, already preparing to go offensive.

Yuuta glared. "Don't call me Fuji's little brother!" He fired a serve, and the battle began between the two of them.

Meanwhile, as the two began a rally, the others were making a bet amongst themselves.

"Saa…who do you think will win? Fuji-senpai no otouto, or mamushi?" Momoshiro asked.

"Kaidou-senpai"- Katsuo and Kachiro

"Kaidou" - Tsun and Itsuki

"…I'm not getting involved in this…" - Takahiro

"Urm…Fuji's little brother?" - Arai

Everyone stared at Arai, who was the only one giving a different answer.

Arai held up his hands defensively. "I mean…he's the tensai Fuji's little brother, isn't he? I believe he does have a chance."

Momoshiro turned back to the game. "Saa…well, I'm rooting for Fuji's little brother as well. There's no way I'm cheering for that baka mamushi."

They turned their attention back to the courts. Yuuta had already managed to score one game against Kaidou.

"Er…what happened?" Itsuki asked, thumping a hand on Takahiro's shoulder.

The chessmaster gave him an expressionless stare. "While you're all so busy betting amongst yourselves, that Fuji Yuuta-kun had already taken out Kaidou-senpai with Twist Spin Serve."

"Whoa! That must be a new skill. Didn't hear of this last year." Momoshiro glanced in Kaidou's direction and gave a snicker. "Poor mamushi. He's not going to be happy. He had better defend his service games, or else he would be in trouble."

"How could he lose so fast anyway? It's barely 10 minutes into the game." Tsun asked.

Takahiro sighed. Looked like it was all up to him to deal with the explanations, since he had been the only one to observe the match so far.

"That St Rudolph guy had used a serve that rebounds sharply into the air upon contact with the ground. Kaidou-senpai did not even have the chance to return any of his serves. He won with service aces."

"Oh? Looks like Fuji-senpai no otouto has improved a lot since the last time we saw him. Now then, what are you going to do about it, mamushi?" Momoshiro asked.

Kaidou had no special serves, so he started a rally with the younger Fuji. Yuuta was not an easy opponent, as he returned every single of Kaidou's shots easily.

Kaidou hit a snake at that moment, scoring a point.

"Fuji no otouto-kun has never fought against Kaidou before. It'll take him a while to get used to Kaidou's snake shots." Tsun muttered, having been on the receiving end of the viper's skill in their previous matches.

By throwing in snake shots in his returns, Kaidou managed to defend his service game.

It was now back to Yuuta's turn to serve.

"I wonder if Kaidou-senpai would lose another service game…?" Katsuo asked.

To everyone's surprise, even Kaidou's, Yuuta did not use the twist spin serve, and instead opted for a normal serve.

"What's wrong with him? That serve would have guaranteed his service game, would it not? So why isn't he using it?" Kachiro turned to the seniors. Without Inui around to do the explanations, the third years were the best ones he could ask next.

"Ah…well…about that…maybe he's too spooked by mamushi's appearance to remember how to use that skill?" Momoshiro began fabricating his own reason, as he really had no idea.

The chessmaster gave a cough, though it sounded as if he was trying to hide either a laugh or a snort.

"It's not that he had forgotten, but it's that he can't use it that many times. It seemed to be a strain to his arm." Takahiro sighed. The temporary captain really had been hanging out with the captain too often. It seemed that Echizen had corrupted him with the art of making up lame excuses.

The next moment, Itsuki had seized Takahiro in a one-armed squeeze.

"Now that's my smart little otouto! What made you come up with that conclusion?" the eternally optimistic player asked, his grin practically covering more than half of his face.

"I've been watching his service game when you guys were so busy deciding who might be the winner. He used a lot of his arm strength to put an incredible amount of spin into his serve. While it did save his service game, it's a double-edged blade, as it would also strain his arm muscles. I saw how his muscles have been working, and I can safely guess that he wouldn't be using that skill too often. Now then, can you let go of me now, oni-chan?"

(A/N: Onii-chan—brother, oni-chan—ogre)

They turned their attention back to the game. Kaidou was in the lead now, 2 games to 1.

"I was hoping to play against Echizen again, but I guess you're more powerful than I thought. It's really nasty, that shot of yours…what's it called again…ah yes, snake. Well, it won't work on me anymore."

Surely enough, in the next game, Yuuta could roughly guess where the snake shots would land, and would return each of them with a Super Rising shot.

The tensai's little brother evened out the scores to 2 all. The both of them eventually drew the match into a rally, and Kaidou used snake again.

"Haven't I said that it wouldn't work on me anymore?" Again, Yuuta used his Super Rising shot.

To his surprise, the next moment, the snake shot player had leapt into the air, and had used a Dunk Smash.

Yuuta was left blinking…wasn't that supposed to be Momoshiro's skill?

"Oi! Mamushi! My skill is copyrighted! Don't you dare use it without my permission!"

"I don't need your permission, baka Momoshiro. Just be quiet and watch the match. Fsshhh…" Kaidou hissed at him.

"What did you say?!"

It was only after Momoshiro was chided by the referee did he let the issue slide. He stood there with his arms folded, drilling holes into Kaidou's skull with his glare.

Yuuta eventually learnt that the Dunk Smash sealed his Super Rising, and he had no choice but to use the Twist Spin Shot again.

"Is there a way to defeat that skill? At this rate, Kaidou's going to lose." Tsun said worriedly.

Itsuki gave a snort. "Nonsense! You're too pessimistic, Minori. Kaidou will win. I'm sure of it. If he doesn't, who knows what Echizen-buchou will do to him when he returns."

A collective shudder ran through everyone at the optimist's words. Sometimes, Itsuki's mind games did affect even his own teammates.

Momoshiro turned back to the rally. "Speaking of Echizen, he was the one who first broke through Fuji no otouto's Twist Spin Shot. That skill was very scary, and had a lot of power in it. Echizen had developed the Drive B on the spot to counter it. At the moment, Mamushi definitely has more strength as compared to Echizen, so I don't think it would be a problem for him to return the shot. He just needs to grasp the timing and return it before the shot hits the ground."

"Game, St Rudolph. 4 games all." The referee announced.

Kaidou gave a hiss as Yuuta began the serve again. This time, Yuuta didn't seem to think too much about his arm, as he started off with a Twist Spin Serve.

"15-0." The referee announced.

Kaidou gave a another hiss, and Momoshiro began chuckling from the sides.

"That mamushi is getting irritated. Who knows, with any luck, he would be able to catch the serve with his teeth."

"I can hear you, baka Momoshiro!" Kaidou snarled.

Momoshiro put a hand on his hip. "Oh? I've _meant_ for you to hear me, mamushi."

"FSSSHHHH!" When Yuuta used the Twist Spin Serve again, Kaidou had used a dash, reaching the shot before it hit the ground. He countered, and the shot went around the pole before hitting the ground, scoring a point.

"Boomerang Snake!" Yuuta recognized it immediately, having been a spectator to Seigaku's matches before. The skill was definitely stronger than it looked.

They began another rally, and Kaidou kept using snake shots, sending the now tired Yuuta around the courts.

"Such a persistent guy. Does he have unlimited stamina?" He was slowly falling prey to the continuous Snakes.

"Of course. Mamushi may not have the brains, but at least he has the brawns to win the match."

"What did you say, Momoshiro?" Kaidou snapped.

"The truth, mamushi. I was only telling Fuji no otouto-kun the truth."

Somehow, Momoshiro's provocations had spiked not just Kaidou's anger, but the power in his shots as well. Before long, it wasn't just a tennis match between Kaidou and Yuuta. It was also a debate competition between Kaidou and the temporary captain.

"Game and match, won by Seigaku's Kaidou. 6 games to 4." The referee announced.

Yuuta came to the net. "I admit my defeat. Urm…handshake?"

The snake shot player had long left the courts, and was now in a brawl with the spiky haired dunk smash player.

Yuuta sweatdropped. So this must be what his aniki meant when he said Seigaku had a lot of scary players.

Well, not just scary players, but scared players as well. Katsuo and Kachiro were cowering behind the Psycho Pair, and Arai had long escaped after giving the excuse of going for a jog.

"Ryoma-buchou! Please come back quickly!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Who's our next opponent? It's not Seigaku now, is it?" Some of the remaining teams were checking the boards.

"No. Seigaku's going against Rokkaku. How fast. They're already qualified for the semi-finals."

"That's Seigaku for you. Who's our opponent then?"

There was a short pause.

"…Rikkai Dai…oh shit…"

Meanwhile, Momoshiro and the sophomore pair walked over to the boards to check on their opponents. The other Seigaku regulars were warming up in one of the free courts while waiting for their match to start.

"Rokkaku Chuu. I'm not surprised." Momoshiro said as he read the boards.

"Momo-chan buchou-dai, do you think Aoi-san is the captain again this year?" Kachiro asked.

Momoshiro scratched his head at that. "I'm not too sure, but most likely. I daresay he would be in the regulars again."

"That's for sure." Both Katsuo and Kachiro agreed.

Just then, Katsuo noticed a bunch of people approaching them, and had given a yelp, hiding behind Momoshiro. Kachiro followed his gaze, saw who was coming over and did the same.

"Well, well. If it isn't Momoshiro buchou-dai. I'm impressed that you're all here for the competitions. I would have thought that all of you've checked into the nearest hospital, just like your precious captain." Kirihara Akaya sneered at the three Seigaku players. Behind him stood his teammates, all proudly sporting their yellow Rikkai jerseys.

Momoshiro was tempted to punch him, but did not take the bait. Instead, he just gave a snort.

"Sorry to ruin your expectations, but you'll find out that my team is stronger than we look. You fight like a damsel. Such strength can't possibly beat my team." He threw the taunt back at Kirihara.

For a while, Kirihara twitched, though he quickly recovered. Straightening up, his smirk widened. "That day I was only dropping a greeting to you people. I didn't thrash your place up intentionally, and it was an accident that your players were all beaten. No hard feelings?"

"None at all. We were thinking of returning your greetings later, Kirihara." Momoshiro countered smoothly.

Kirihara gave a snort. "Good luck then, Momoshiro buchou-dai. You will all have to face Rokkaku later. Well, whether you win or lose, it doesn't make a difference. Rikkai kings will reclaim the throne this year."

"Rikkai kings will reclaim the bone this year…pfft…"

A powerful shudder ran through Momoshiro, feeling as if someone had just poured a bucket of ice down his shirt. He knew only one person who would make lame puns like these.

Surely enough, the Rokkaku players were all present as well. Amane "Davide" Hikaru was still chuckling over his own joke, while his teammates grimaced.

"Well, well. Rokkaku Chuu has decided to grace us with their presence as well. You're the captain?" Kirihara asked.

"I am the captain this year, Amane Hikaru. Pleased to meet you, Harakiri Akaya. Pfft…"

(A/N: Harakiri is one of the Japanese style of suicide, if I'm not mistaken.)

Kirihara twitched. "What did you say?"

'Don't get yourself involved in this…' Momoshiro thought urgently. Rokkaku was a school that emphasizes on patience and peace. Rikkai Dai, on the other hand, were very aggressive. If Amane provoked them now, he doubted they would be able to leave this area unharmed.

Unfortunately, Amane didn't seem to get Momoshiro's silent message…well…unfortunately for both Seigaku and Rikkai Dai, not Amane.

"Rikkai Dai will be champions huh…Rikkai Die. Pfft…"

While mildly offensive, Amane's puns were highly unbearable, and soon enough, Seigaku, Rokkaku and Rikkai Dai players were all wishing that they were deaf.

If that wasn't bad enough…

"OH? MOMOSHIRO BUCHOU-DAI. IT'S BEEN A WHILE, SEIGAKU. I HOPE TO PLAY AGAINST YOU GUYS SOON." Aoi Kentarou's enthusiastic voice could be picked up anywhere. In fact, they could probably hear him clearly even across a football field.

"Ceh…you're very noisy…lower down your voice, baka." Kirihara didn't look too happy.

"ARE? AM I BEING TOO LOUD? REALLY?"

All the Rikkai players winced uncomfortably. "Kirihara-buchou…let's leave…" One of the regulars suggested.

Kirihara looked more than eager to do so. At least there will be no more mind-corrupting puns and ear busting noises if they kept their distance from the Rokkaku players. With that, the Rikkai junior high captain turned to Momoshiro.

"Well then, I'll see you later. Be prepared to lose." He taunted.

Amane was quick to reply to that. "You would only lose if you snooze…pfft…"

The Rikkai players had never walked so fast before, as Kirihara and his team escaped swiftly to defend what's left of their sanity.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"The match between Seishun Gakuen and Rokkaku Chuu will begin shortly. Doubles 2, please get ready." The announcement was made, and Tsun begin a short round of warming up.

"Momo-chan buchou-dai. Your phone." Kachiro called out.

Momoshiro snatched it from his bag. "Oh? A new message received…it's from Echizen!"

"Really! Let me see!" Already, the Seigaku members crowded around Momoshiro.

"How unusually thoughtful. Well, our captain cares about us a lot, to give us some last minute encouraging words…eh?"

XXX

**From: Echizen Ryoma**

**Mada Mada Dane**

XXX

Silence descended upon the Seigaku players, all eyes staring at the short and _not _sweet message.

"Can I kick him?" Momoshiro spoke up after a while.

"Douzo. I think we will join you if our legs can reach all the way to Kyuushu." Takahiro mumbled.

Momoshiro picked up his racket. "Well, that's just typical of Echizen. We'll just have to prove him wrong na, prove him wrong yo."

Using the data provided by Inui after the Trust Fall activity, they were now doing a different doubles pair, as it was a combination of Momoshiro and Tsun for Doubles 2.

"Let's go, Tsun." Momoshiro instructed.

"Hai. Hold this for me, Keita." Tsun had tossed his Seigaku jersey over to his doubles partner, who was bench coach.

XXX

The opponents were a couple of unfamiliar faces, and both were third years.

The two Rokkaku players were obviously weaker than the Seigaku temporary captain, and Momoshiro won the first two games with his dunk smash.

"Dun!!!" Momoshiro gave his trademark line.

"Momo-senpai and Tsun-senpai sure work well." Katsuo said admiringly.

Itsuki turned around slightly. "That's of course. Minori works well with everyone, since he's a defensive player, he lets the other do all the attacking, and would cover for his partner when he needs to."

"Game, Seigaku. 4 games to 2."

The two Rokkaku players had learnt their lesson already, and now, both of them were careful to not hit a lob.

"This is getting troublesome na, troublesome yo." Momoshiro said.

Looked like his Dunk Smash was sealed. Well, it wasn't as if he didn't have any other skills.

Using his powerful backhand stroke, he fired his Jackknife skill, winning the next game.

One of the Rokkaku players had managed to lure him to the net with a drop shot in the next game, tricking Momoshiro into leaving a spot unguarded.

With that, the Rokkaku player smashed, trying to score a point.

Unfortunately, Tsun reached there first. "Sorry, but you're not getting past my defenses." He returned the shot, ending the game at 6-2.

XXX

Doubles 2 had been an easy match for Seigaku, since both Momoshiro and Tsun were extremely skillful players. Unfortunately, it wasn't so easy for Doubles 1.

"Kachiro!" Katsuo warned as the opponents aimed for the centre.

The shorter sophomore player hurried to return the shot. Seigaku was on the losing edge, with Rokkaku leading 4-1. As the game proceeded, the pressure was mounting for Seigaku's sophomore pair.

"We will not lose!" Already, Katsuo and Kachiro's speed and power had increased. The stronger the tension is during matches, the better their performance was. Already, those two were playing like monsters, getting their lost points back.

"Game, Seigaku. 4 games to 3." The referee called out.

Even though the Seigaku players were rapidly catching up with the Rokkaku player's scores, they didn't seem fazed in the least bit. Instead, they were as calm as ever. Keeping a controlled pace in the game, the Rokkaku players had managed to get a hang of both Katsuo and Kachiro's style, allowing them to defend their game for a long period of time.

As the moments ticked by, the pressure was mounting even higher for the Seigaku players, and they were beginning to make mistakes.

"Out! Game, Rokkaku Chuu, 5 games to 3." The referee announced, and the two Seigaku players were really starting to panic.

Their opponents gazed at them calmly. Finally, one of the Rokkaku players spoke up.

"I'll admit that the both of you are extremely powerful players, especially when the both of you are under pressure. However, you succumb too easily to it. If you're unable to keep your cool, there is no way you can defeat us. Remember that, Seigaku."

With that, he fired at the unguarded right corner, ending the game at 6-3.

XXX

The Chessmaster, at the moment, wished he had a pair of earplugs.

"SUGOI! YOU'RE IN THE SAME YEAR AS I AM, AREN'T YOU? NE, NE. WHO'S MORE POWERFUL, YOU OR ECHIZEN-KUN? WHY ARE YOU CALLED THE CHESSMASTER? YOU PLAY CHESS?" Aoi Kentarou looked highly eager to start the game, and his excitement caused his voice to raise several decibels. If Takahiro's racket was made of glass, it might have shattered in his hands a long time ago.

"Could you lower your voice? I'm standing right in front of you. There's no need to yell." Takahiro gave the other sophomore an expressionless stare.

Aoi gave a sheepish laugh. "I'M NOT YELLING, BUT I SUPPOSE YOU'RE RIGHT. EVERYONE ALWAYS SAY THAT I TALK TOO LOUD, BUT THIS IS JUST THE WAY I TALK. ANYWAY, I'M THE VICE-CAPTAIN AOI KENTAROU. NICE TO MEET YOU."

"Nice to meet you." Takahiro repeated the greeting, now standing at least four feet away from the net.

Even after they had gotten into position, Takahiro's ears were still ringing. His 'oni-chan' was making things worse.

"Go get him, Haruka-chan!" Itsuki yelled excitedly.

Aoi served, and Takahiro accepted the Rokkaku vice-captain's challenge to start a rally. As was Aoi's habit, he allowed Takahiro to score 4 games first.

"Whoa! Haruka-chan is really doing well! I've never seen a match this one-sided." Itsuki looked mildly amazed.

Momoshiro snorted. "No. Aoi is letting Takahiro win on purpose. He is rather similar to our Katsuo and Kachiro, as the more pressure he receives, the stronger he becomes. Right, mamushi?"

"Fsshh…" Kaidou had that experience before, having been Aoi's opponent last year.

Well, Takahiro didn't need Momoshiro's explanation for that. He could see that his opponent wasn't playing seriously. His observation skills were second to Echizen's after all…or now it should be first, since Echizen was blind. He couldn't be too sure of Aoi's real strength, so he could not come up with a strategy for him just yet. Well, he would just have to observe a while longer.

In the next rally, surely enough, Aoi was playing seriously, and now he took control of the pace of the game. Takahiro found himself being driven to the same corner all the time, and he could only make the same returns to Aoi. Aoi then hit a shot that caused the ball to hit the net, roll over and fall to the ground gently. Takahiro didn't even have time to react to that, let alone return it.

"Game, Rokkaku. 4 games to 2."

'Such accuracy…to be able to hit cord balls repeatedly. This guy's shots are very precise.' Takahiro thought to himself.

Aoi wiped his face with the back of his hands. The match sure was getting intense. 'This guy isn't playing seriously yet. I would have to be careful of him. Well, if I win from 4-0 onwards, all the girls would be all over me.' He thought happily.

Aoi scored another two games, bringing the scores to 4 all.

Finally, Takahiro spoke up. "Looks like I would need at least 20 moves…" he muttered.

'Eh? What was this guy mumbling about?' Aoi wondered.

Takahiro served, and when Aoi returned it, his eyes widened slightly. The speed of the shot had increased.

"12, 13, 14…" Takahiro was counting the shots, and Aoi wondered what the Chessmaster was playing at.

At the 18th shot, the Chessmaster fired a high lob, aiming for the baseline behind Aoi.

"TAKAHIRO-KUN. THAT'S A VERY SNEAKY SHOT. SORRY TO SAY YOU'RE NOT GOING TO SUCCEED." Aoi did a running leap into the air, firing a smash.

A small smile appeared on Takahiro's face. "The 20th shot." He used his version of Higuma Otoshi, countering the smash.

"Game, Seigaku's Takahiro. 5 games to 4."

Aoi smiled slightly. The strategist of Seigaku. So that was what his nickname was about.

When the next rally began, Aoi went all out, once again using his shots to control Takahiro's movements.

"THERE'S NO WAY YOU CAN WIN AGAINST ME YET, TAKAHIRO-KUN." Aoi said.

"You don't have to yell." Takahiro called back.

Perfect! Takahiro was trapped at the right corner again, and could only return the shots to his right corner. Aoi had him trapped in his pace again. Are? Takahiro had moved to the left, and still had to return the shot to his right corner. He's moving to the right again, and was returning the shot to the right corner again…oh crap…

It didn't take long for Aoi to realize it was him who was caught in the Chessmaster's pace this time, as Takahiro was now using his skill against him, and Aoi could not move away from the corner.

The Chessmaster had then used the same cord ball, though since this was Aoi's skill, he knew when that was coming, and had managed to dash forward just in time to return the shot that had rolled over the net.

"THAT WAS CLOSE. SORRY, BUT I'LL BE SCORI…"

The next moment, Takahiro too was at the net, and he fired a smash at the left corner, which Aoi could not defend since he was at the net.

"You can't score with pawns." Takahiro said before walking back to the baseline, ready for Aoi's serve again.

In the next rally, Aoi had again fallen prey to Takahiro's pace. The Chessmaster had made a very thorough mental calculation, and Aoi was reduced to defending instead of attacking.

He noticed that Takahiro got into the pose of hitting a cord ball again. That trick would not work on him this time. He did a net dash to return the shot.

Takahiro's shot hit the net, and didn't bounce at all. Instead, it rolled all the way down the net before coming to a stop upon contact with the ground.

"Checkmate." Takahiro said calmly, walking off the courts just as the referee announced the scores.

Needless to say, the poor Chessmaster got a congratulatory hug from Itsuki, though he had long learnt that he could never shake off the ever optimistic player, so he let the third year be.

"It's your turn now, senpai." He said.

"Aa. Hold this for me now, Haruka-chan. Onii-chan will win for sure!" Itsuki said enthusiastically.

"I wonder about that…" Takahiro muttered darkly, staring at the Rokkaku captain, who was now walking into the courts.

XXX

"Konnichiwa! I would not go easy on you so you had better be prepared. The loser would have to buy the winner a can of Fanta." Itsuki chirped.

Amane stared at the other third year. "Fanta? Only Santa drinks Fanta. Pfft…"

It was as if a cold gust of wind had blown past. Seigaku and Rokkaku members alike had keeled over at the pun. Then again, who wouldn't? Every person would not be able to stand a joke as lame as that.

Well, unless that person was one half of the psycho pair, that was. Itsuki was already insane anyway, so the pun didn't cause him to fall over.

Instead, Itsuki blinked at Amane. Moments later, the corners of the optimistic player's mouth twitched. Mere seconds later, the third year was rolling on the floor laughing, causing even Amane to gape in amazement.

"Goodness…only Santa drinks Fanta. Ahahahaha…that was…really funny." Itsuki wiped his eyes, still chuckling.

Amane was further pinned to the spot. Funny? No one has ever found his jokes funny. Finally, there was someone who understood the importance of laughter in life. Finally, there was someone who understood his jokes.

"Ne, ne. Do you have anymore jokes?" Itsuki asked, his eyes all wide and sparkly.

Even as they began a rally, Amane had begun thinking up of his wonderful jokes of corn, causing Itsuki to laugh some more.

"Oi! Davide! Keep your attention on the match!" one of the regulars yelled.

Somehow, his drop shot hit the net, causing him to lose a point.

"The drop shot dropped short. Pfft." Again, Itsuki was reduced to laughter.

"I have to hand it to Itsuki-senpai. It seems that he must be acting really hard to not seem disgusted by those jokes." Kachiro said.

Tsun raised an eyebrow at that. "You think so? I think Keita had really liked those jokes, I don't think he's faking it."

Momoshiro groaned. "I wish Itsuki wouldn't encourage him. My brain cells are dying."

"Game, Seigaku. 4 games all."

"He's keeping up with Itsuki-senpai pretty well though. Even with him being half distracted by thinking up of jokes, he can still defend his games." Katsuo added.

Amane was extremely happy. Finally, he could say all the jokes he liked, and no one would kick him in the head, or other parts of his anatomy. Finally, he could speak freely, without that evil Saeki stealing his lines.

His teammates didn't share his enthusiasm though. Every one of them feared for their sanity. That was why, after Kurobane had graduated last year, no one else became Amane's doubles partner, and he remained in singles even up till now.

"AMANE-BUCHOU…I THINK IT'S BEST IF YOU STOP WITH THE JOKES NOW…" Aoi suggested weakly.

The orange-haired Rokkaku captain shot him a stare.

"Only Aoi reads Yaoi. Pfft." Itsuki had taken the chance to score at that.

Aoi had turned beet red. "BUCHOU! YOU'RE GOING TO DRIVE ALL THE GIRLS AWAY FROM ME IF YOU SAY THAT."

"The girls would be driven away…in a car. Pfft." Again, with his guard down, Itsuki was happily scoring.

It was only after Itsuki had reached match point did Amane realize he was too careless. By that time, it was already too late.

"Here. I'll present you a present." Itsuki grinned, scoring with a speedy shot.

"Game and match, won by, Seigaku's Itsuki. 6 games to 4. Seigaku has 3 wins and 1 loss. Seigaku qualifies for the finals."

As Itsuki and Amane continued on with their happy round of lame puns, Momoshiro directed his attention to the other regulars, determinedly not listening to what the two were saying.

"While this has turned out to be one of the most unbearable matches to watch, I'm glad that we have won. We're in the finals now." He said.

Kachiro and Katsuo gave a cheer at that. Tsun and Takahiro both nodded, while Kaidou gave a hiss.

Momoshiro snickered. "Too bad, mamushi. You didn't have a chance to play at all."

"Are you looking for a fight? Fsshhh!" Kaidou hissed.

"A fight huh…" Momoshiro looked up at the stands, where several players in yellow uniforms stood.

"Looks like we would need to put up a fight indeed." Momoshiro said darkly.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In Kyuushu (Two days after Seigaku defeated Rokkaku)

Ryoma yawned, feeling rather bored. Slowly, he lifted his right hand and tried flexing it carefully. The cast was removed from his hand just hours ago, and of course, his limb was suffering from the lack of use for months. It would take him quite a while, and many, many hours of training and healing before he could use his right hand like before.

He rested his head on his left hand as he continued to move his right, giving it a little exercise. This was not really helping to strengthen his muscles, but it was better than nothing.

He heard footsteps walking over to his direction. Phillip's footsteps. Surely enough, the blonde's voice could be heard.

"Echizen-sama. You have a new message from Inui-san. Let's see…_Echizen, I'm sure that you'll be glad to hear about what I have to tell you. Kanto High and Seigaku have both qualified for the finals. Seigaku would now be facing Rikkai Dai, and according to my data, there is a high chance they wouldn't be able to win. My captain had mentioned that his little brother had already analyzed Seigaku's strength. Anyway, don't think too much about it. No matter what, Seigaku has already qualified for the Nationals. Return to us when you've recovered._"

Phillip lowered the phone. "Sometimes Inui-san can be so frank. Don't worry though. I'm sure your school would be fine."

"Inui-senpai has a point. Seigaku might lose." Ryoma said tonelessly, still flexing the fingers of his right hand.

After a long while, Ryoma remained still, and for a moment, Phillip thought that the green-haired boy had fallen asleep. All of a sudden, Ryoma sat up, startling him.

"Ne, Phillip. You said that you'll listen to my orders right?" he asked.

"If it's reasonable." Phillip had a bad feeling about this.

A small smile appeared on Ryoma's face. "Also, you'll always be following me around to keep an eye on me right?"

"So?" Phillip gulped.

Ryoma's smile turned into a grin.

XXX

As usual, Tachibana and Chitose dropped by to see how Ryoma was doing. They were done with their competitions after all.

When they reached the center, however, they halted in their steps.

For complete chaos greeted their eyes.

"Where is Echizen?" a few doctors and nurses were running around, while a few more were going hysterical. One of the nurses was tearing at her cap so violently that the fabric tore into two.

Chitose stopped a passing nurse, who turned tear-filled eyes to him. "May I ask what's happening here?"

"Echizen-san is missing. Gone! Vanished without a trace! Kaput! All that's left of him is this." She handed them both a note before she pranced away, singing the National anthem. It looked like Echizen's disappearance had caused her to lose her mind.

Both Tachibana and Chitose glanced down at the slip of paper. Tachibana smoothen it out before reading it aloud.

"_I am leaving. Don't look for me. From, Echizen Ryoma_."

"He ran away?" Chitose asked, looking mildly bewildered.

Tachibana did not say a word. Instead, he turned around and began walking away from the center.

The former Fudoumine captain went to the nearest pay phone, putting in some coins and dialing the numbers. Seeing his friend's questioning gaze, he gave a heavy sigh.

"I'm calling my sister. I think she had better warn her boyfriend beforehand. He would most likely be getting a nasty surprise today."

XXX

In Tokyo (Same day, evening)

"Well then…" Momoshiro stood with his arms folded, one finger tapping his left arm irritably.

He took a deep breath, trying to bring his blood pressure down from dangerous levels.

"Care to explain what the devil are you doing back here, Echizen?!" He snarled with enough force to cause trees to collapse.

"The Kantou competitions, of course." Ryoma stated calmly, as if it was very natural for him to be here, and just as natural for him to be competing in the finals.

Momoshiro twitched. It was a good thing Ann-chan had called him in the afternoon to warn him about this, or he would have had a heart attack right when he saw Echizen. Now he was just suffering from high blood pressure, but was not in danger of a heart attack just yet.

Ryoma cocked his head to one side. "Aren't you going to invite me in? My bags are heavy, you know."

"You're not the one carrying them…" Phillip muttered weakly behind him.

Momoshiro gave a sigh and led Ryoma and that blonde guy in. It was a good thing his family was out for a few days, or _they_ might suffer a heart attack seeing Echizen here.

Phillip dropped the bags to the floor once they've reached the living room, and he dropped gratefully onto a couch. Momoshiro did his part as host by offering them both drinks. Ryoma gave his thanks as he took the can of Ponta from Momoshiro.

"So…the clinic had discharged you already?" Momoshiro asked.

Ryoma lowered his drink. "I checked myself out." He corrected his best friend.

Momoshiro twitched. "Are you saying…you snuck all the way back to Tokyo?"

Ryoma frowned at that. "I don't sneak, Momo-senpai. I walked to the airport, took a plane back here, and walked to your house. Which part of that is sneaking?"

"You still didn't get permission from them to leave. What do you think they'll be feeling when they find out you're gone." Momoshiro asked, his tone scolding.

Ryoma sipped on his Ponta again. "They won't look for me. I've already dropped them a note."

"As I recall you've dropped _us_ a note too. Wasn't really useful now, was it?"

Ryoma ignored the sarcasm in Momoshiro's voice. Instead, he placed the can on the floor and relaxed back against his seat.

"Anyway, I'll get straight to the point. Put me in Singles 1, Momo-senpai. You're the one in charge of deciding the order of players after all."

"I refuse." Momoshiro snapped immediately. Part of it was because he was angry with Ryoma running all the way back to Tokyo without informing the center and part of it was because he didn't want Ryoma to get hurt. _That_ Rikkai Dai player would be in Singles 1 after all.

If Ryoma had his sight, he would have narrowed it at Momoshiro. As that option was not available to him, he settled for a frown, which was half a pout, instead.

"I'm ordering you to put me in singles 1 then."

"I said no. Besides, Echizen. I'm the temporary captain now. _You_ can't order me" Momoshiro said stubbornly.

Ryoma gritted his teeth. "Momo-senpai. I came back here to play in Singles 1, and yes, I know that I will be facing Kirihara Akaya. Inui-senpai had hinted that much to me. Kirihara is still Rikkai's ace. The rest of you would not be able to stand a chance against him."

"And you would?" Momoshiro countered.

Echizen shrugged. "I would stand a better chance against him, I suppose."

Momoshiro rubbed the back of his head, feeling rather frustrated by Ryoma's insistence. "Echizen…you're in no condition to fight him."

"I've almost made a complete recovery already. All that's left now is my sight." Ryoma lied. Actually, his sight was not just the only problem. He couldn't use his right hand, as the muscles were still weak. He couldn't do the one foot split step either; as that would be a burden to his newly healed right leg.

Still, Momoshiro didn't know that now, did he? What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

A thousand more protests were bubbling in Momoshiro's throat, but a single word from Echizen killed off all his objections.

"Please."

For Echizen's character, he would rather drink a gallon of Inui juice before he pleaded with anyone. Now that he was actually pleading for this, Momoshiro knew that the boy was determined. They could argue till daylight and Echizen would not change his mind.

The dunk smash player gave a sigh, sitting heavily on the couch. "I'm going to regret this…very well. I'll put you in Singles 1."

Ryoma smiled at that. "Doomo."

The Seigaku captain proceeded to introduce his guide, and both Momoshiro and Phillip exchanged greetings. When they were done, Ryoma's tone became serious again.

"Inui-senpai mentioned that Kirihara Akaya had analyzed our strength already. Care to explain?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Minori! Hurry up! The others might be waiting for us already." Itsuki called over his shoulder to his doubles partner.

Tsun had a hard time keeping up with his best friend. Itsuki was a speed-type player after all. "I can't run as fast as you. Besides, we're at least one hour early. I don't think the others are there yet."

Just as Tsun had predicted, they were the first two Seigaku regulars to reach there. Fifteen minutes later, Takahiro had reached the competitions grounds, followed on by Kachiro, Katsuo and Kaidou. Only Momoshiro and Arai were left now.

Just then, Tsun's phone rang. He picked it up and held it to his ear. "Hello…eh? You've gotten food poisoning and now you're not able to make it to the competitions? I see. I'll pass the word to the temporary captain then."

He ended the call, turning to stare at the other regulars gravely. "Arai can't make it here. He had food poisoning and was admitted into the hospital. We're short of one reserve player, so we can't afford to lose."

"That's bad." They were already gloomy over the idea of playing against Rikkai Dai, and this news was yet another blow to them.

They looked at the clock. Another 15 minutes to check in. Momoshiro wasn't going to call up and say that he couldn't make it as well now, was he?

Just then, they heard a couple of people arguing, and were relieved to hear Momoshiro's voice.

"Hurry up, Echizen. Thanks to you taking such a long time to drag yourself out of the house, we're going to be late! Honestly. It was a good thing you were sleeping over at my house yesterday, and I could kick you out of your bed to wake you up. Otherwise, you wouldn't even make it here today." Momoshiro was scolding.

The next voice made all their hearts leap. That voice…what was he doing back here?

"I can't help it. You're quite a terrible guide, and I don't know your house that well to walk around blind. By the way, Momo-senpai. Don't run so fast! I can't see where I'm going, remember?"

Ryoma had stayed over at Momoshiro's house yesterday night, preferring not to go home just yet. His father especially would kill him if he found out that he had snuck all the way back.

Also, Ryoma had given Phillip the day off, allowing Momoshiro to be his guide for the day instead. He was beginning to regret that decision.

"Echizen-buchou…" Takahiro was the first one to speak, amazed.

Before Ryoma knew it, two pairs of hands were around him. Kachiro and Katsuo's.

"Ryoma-buchou! Welcome back!" They both said happily, hugging him.

"Doomo. I would only be around for a short while though. After that I'd…have to go settle some things." He said, looking rather awkward.

He was only here for the match. He had promised Momoshiro that he would leave right after the prize-giving ceremony, so that the doctors and nurses at the rehabilitation center would be tortured no further.

Momoshiro was still the one to check in at the counter. "Seigaku, here with 8 regulars."

"Hai…eh…Echizen Ryoma?" the officer at the counter spotted the cap wearing captain.

"Echizen Ryoma? He's participating?" Immediately the word spread like fire amongst those present there.

There was the sound of someone serving, and the next moment, no less than four rackets were in front of Ryoma, blocking the shot that was aimed at him. The Psycho Pair frowned, while both Momo and Kaidou growled.

Kirihara Akaya tapped his racket on his shoulder. "Ah. Gomen, gomen. My shot slipped."

Behind him, his entire team stood menacingly, staring at the Seigaku team challengingly.

Ryoma smirked. "Hmm? Is you aim always this lousy?" he taunted.

The younger Kirihara had a slow smile on his face. "Ever the good captain, eh, Echizen. You know that your team doesn't have a chance to win, so you've decided to come to the rescue. I wonder how you'd be able to fight against us, eh Echizen? Be careful not to get hurt. Blind people would not be able to see the shots coming at them, and they would only feel it after they've been hit."

Ryoma adjusted his cap. "Hmm? You'll be the blind one then. I do wonder how you'd stand having your pride trampled over again, once my team is done with you."

Kirihara gritted his teeth at that. "Yarou…"

"Let's go." Ryoma said, walking off with his team behind him.

There was the sound of a ball being hit as Kirihara fired another serve.

Without turning back, Ryoma drew out his racket and hit the ball back to Akaya, and the Rikkai Dai captain's racket was knocked out of his hand when he tried to catch the shot.

"Improve your aim. Baka." Ryoma stated as he continued on walking. Not once did he turn back.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It looked like the competition was not in their favour, as Kachiro-Katsuo pair lost just 20 minutes into the game.

Rikkai Dai was a whole school of extremely aggressive, powerful players. By the time Katsuo and Kachiro had built up enough tension to improve their shots, they could no longer overcome their opponents, who had been playing like monsters in the start and who had the upper hand in strength.

Both returned dejectedly to their teammates. "Gomen, minna. We've lost." They said.

"It doesn't matter. We'll win the next round. Right, Minori?" Itsuki chirped. He was perhaps the only other one aside from Ryoma himself who wasn't pressured by Rikkai Dai.

"Aa. Let's go, Keita." Tsun said, picking up his racket.

Their opponents leered at them the minute they had stepped into the courts.

"I've heard that Seigaku is extremely weak when it comes to doubles. Well, that's lucky for us then." One of the opponents, Baku snickered.

To his surprise, the next moment Itsuki was at the net, giving them a long, hard stare. Already, they were getting slightly unnerved by Itsuki's odd behavior. The next moment, a wide grin had spread on Itsuki's face. "Ahahaha…lucky indeed. Well! You can't win everything by luck alone. We have the skills, and we will win this for sure."

The two blinked at Itsuki for a moment, still too taken aback by the dazzling grin, which had blinded them for a moment. By the time they got the actual meaning behind what Itsuki had said, Tsun was already preparing to serve.

While Tsun immediately began defending their side of the court, Itsuki was going offensive. The two opponents were finding it increasingly difficult to take the happy-go-lucky player seriously, considering that he was now bouncing around the courts in such high spirits, catching the opponents' shots and returning them with a victory sign each time.

There were a few times when the opponents did catch Itsuki off guard, and they would then score at the unguarded spot. Itsuki would then stare at the spot for a while before bursting out into laughter.

"Ahahaha! I didn't expect that. Now, now, you two. It's very naughty to sneak up on your opponents, you know."

The Rikkai players' jaws dropped. Why on earth was he able to laugh like that when it was _Rikkai Dai_ that had scored, not them. Also…was this guy actually sane?

It was not helping that Itsuki had began humming a song to himself as the game went on, and by now, the Rikkai Dai players were _very_ wary of him.

"Sometimes, even I wonder if Itsuki is mentally stable. Only he would be able to play tennis with such a psychological impact." Momoshiro shuddered.

As one of the opponents did a net dash, Itsuki did the same, grinning like a cat. "I'm going to get the shot. I'm going to get the shot…" he was muttering to himself. Instantly, the Rikkai player who was approaching the net changed his mind, backing off instead. He most definitely wouldn't want to be anyway near the potentially crazy player.

Immediately Itsuki did a drop shot, scoring another point.

"Jinxed!" he grinned.

Somehow, they were falling prey to Itsuki's mind games, and were making more mistakes than usual.

"Damn! He's making a fool out of us. Take this!" the guy smashed.

"Not taking it." Itsuki chirped, dodging out of the way. Instead, Tsun had been right behind him, and he countered the skill.

"Game and match, won by, Seigaku. 6 games to 3." The referee announced.

"See! I did say we'll be the winners." Itsuki cheered, further crushing the two Rikkai players' moods. He gave Tsun a high five and returned to the team.

Ryoma folded his arms, a small smirk on his face. "You've underestimated us. We do have a powerful doubles pair here." He addressed the defeated pair.

XXX

The next opponent was a rather short, but very bulky player.

The guy, Riichi hit the net with his racket. "Oh? So you're the Chessmaster? You look scrawnier than I thought. Hey, is it true that you were defeated very badly by our buchou? Knocked out, as I heard."

Takahiro didn't take the bait, as he continued on giving an expressionless stare.

The guy continued on. "I was hoping for someone more powerful, but all I get is a nerd. Chessmaster. Interesting name. Sorry to say, this is tennis. I think you're in the wrong competition."

Blank stare.

"Of course, Rikkai Dai will be the winners again this time. What do you have to say to that?"

Blank stare.

"Oi! Are you even listening to me?" the guy snapped as he noticed that Takahiro's expression did not change one bit, wearing the same wide eyed look ever since he had stepped into the courts.

Slowly, Takahiro raised a finger and pointed at him.

"You…were late today…because you were chased by a dog after you stumbled and fell flat on your face, with your left hand smacking the dog in the jaw as you did so, and you had stumbled because you were running without tying your shoelaces properly first, and you didn't tie your shoelaces properly first because your mother was spanking you, and you were trying to escape, and your mother was spanking you because you had accidentally broken her vase in your haste this morning, and you were in a haste because you woke up late, and you woke up late because you couldn't sleep well yesterday night after your girlfriend dumped you."

He said all these words rapidly, and it was only when he was done did he stop. As he spoke, the colour was slowly being drained from Riichi's face.

"H-how the hell do you know all that?" he gasped, wondering if Takahiro was some kind of psychic.

The chessmaster's eyes widened further, showing a slight look of surprise. "Oh? I was only babbling. You mean I was actually right?" he asked innocently. His eyes travelled from the deep eye bags around the guy's eyes, to the dirt on his face, to cuts on the guy's hands, as well as a single palm print on the guy's bicep, to the bite marks on the guy's left hand, and of course, to the shoelaces, which were still untied. The only wild guess he made was about the girlfriend. So he had managed to guess correctly as well.

The match began, and before long, the Rikkai Dai player found himself believing that Takahiro was most definitely a psychic. He seemed to be able to read his moves clearly.

"You would attempt to score in 3 shots. Sorry to say, I would be the one scoring at 5." Takahiro stated out loud, and every time, his guesses had been correct. Or were they guesses?

Takahiro did score at the fifth shot, for Riichi had stumbled and fallen on his face again.

He looked up fearfully at the Chessmaster. Did Takahiro have some kind of spell to make him fall over?

"If you're wondering if I have some kind of spell to make you fall down like that..." Takahiro began, causing his opponent to give a squeak. The Chessmaster could read minds too?

The strategist gave him a bored look. "I'd say you've been reading too many comics. Your shoelaces are still undone, baka."

Takahiro was going all out this time, calculating his opponent's moves and planning his next shot very quickly. His opponent was a power player, and Takahiro knew that he wouldn't be able to return the shots if the other guy had gone out of him with full strength. Instead, he made sure to return the shots at odd angles, and when the power player returned them with all his strength, he made several beautiful home runs, with the poor tennis ball flying out of the courts.

"Now then. I will defeat you in 8 shots, one for each of the Seigaku regulars. Consider this a repayment to your captain's greeting." He served.

"1…2…3…" Takahiro counted aloud, and Riichi found himself forced to play defensive.

At the seventh shot, Riichi realized that he had been baited to the back of the courts. That would mean…Takahiro would be doing a drop shot!

"I won't let you!" With a burst of speed, Riichi rushed to the front.

A slow smile spread on Takahiro's face. "It's always a good idea to take out the Queen first, so that you can next take out the King."

He smashed, and apparently, he had been aiming for the back all these times. Riichi could not turn around and return the shot in time, considering he was still in a mid-run to the front.

"Checkmate." The chessmaster stated calmly. He turned on his heels and left, not even sparing a glance at the Rikkai Dai player.

XXX

"Looks like everything is working in our favour after all. Lucky!" Momoshiro grinned.

Tsun nodded. "We're definitely faring better than last year. We already have two wins and one loss. Just one more win and we will defeat Rikkai Dai."

"Yosh! Count on me then, minna. Too bad, Echizen. Looks like you wouldn't have the chance to play at all." Momoshiro said, picking up his racket. He made it sound casual, but actually, he was dead determined to win this no matter what.

At least if he won this, Echizen wouldn't be facing Kirihara.

"Hoi hoi! It's your turn already nya?" Someone chirped next to Momoshiro's ear, and he was nearly bowled over by the bear hug that followed.

"E-Eiji-senpai? What are you doing here? Aren't you guys having your competitions too?" Momoshiro asked.

Oishi walked up to the both of them. "We had finished our competitions, and had just heard that Echizen is participating in the competitions, so we rushed over. Echizen, you've recovered?"

Ryoma pulled his cap lower. He did not answer the senior high player, which was already an answer by itself.

"Echizen…you…!"

"By the way, where's Tezuka-buchou?" Momoshiro hurriedly changed the subject as he came to Ryoma's aid.

"Well…he's playing in Singles 1. When we left, it wasn't his turn to compete just yet." Oishi explained, casting a discreet glance at Ryoma to assess his reaction.

He didn't need to worry, as the Seigaku captain had expected that already. Kunimitsu was a responsible person after all, and while a selfish part of Ryoma wished that the brunette captain had been here as well, he was also glad that Kunimitsu wasn't here. If Tezuka forsake his responsibility just to come see him, Ryoma would kick him back to where he belonged.

Kunimitsu choosing his role of captain over his own selfish desire to see Ryoma, this was definitely the person he had fallen in love with, and Ryoma felt rather proud of him.

The rest were staring anxiously at the Seigaku captain, whose face remained impassive. The green-haired boy had not spoken at all, and Oishi was getting more worried as the seconds ticked past.

He finally walked up to Ryoma. "Echizen…"

"Momo-senpai. If you don't head to the courts now, I believe the referee would be getting impatient." He finally spoke up. There was a small smile on his face.

"Eh?" Momoshiro asked dumbly.

"Seigaku's Singles Two representative. Please come to the courts now." Surely enough, the referee had called out.

"Hai, hai." Momoshiro replied, looking slightly embarrassed.

'Now then. Let's begin.' Momoshiro thought. It was just a matter of moments before a rally began between the two.

The Rikkai player and the Seigaku player were both almost equal in level, so it eventually drew out to become a series of returns.

"When are they even going to score a point?" The Seigaku players who were watching groaned.

Eventually, however, Momoshiro began using his trickery again, as he lured the opponent to one side of the courts before scoring at the other.

"Game, Seigaku. 4 games to 2."

'Good. At this rate, Echizen wouldn't need to fight against that devil.' Momoshiro thought. He would finish this quickly.

He used a dunk smash, and now, he just needed one more game to win.

The Rikkai Dai opponent was looking slightly out of breath. He threw a sideway glance at Kirihara. The Rikkai Dai captain gave him a signal, and immediately he smiled. So Kirihara-buchou wanted him to use _that_ eh?

During the next match, whenever the opponent returned the shot to Momoshiro, he made sure to add a certain amount of spin to the ball first. When Momoshiro caught the ball, it spun violently against his racket, causing it to feel incredibly heavy, and it was taking almost all of the dunk smash player's strength just to return it.

'Baka…go ahead and return it as you like. Your wrist is slowly getting injured anyway.' The Rikkai player thought.

He did the same move over and over again, and the burden to Momoshiro's wrist was increasing. Finally, he decided it was his time to score. In his next shot, he aimed for Echizen, who was sitting as bench coach.

Just as he predicted, Momoshiro immediately leapt to defend his captain, and the Dunk Smash player had made a weak return.

'You're finished!' he fired a power shot, hitting Momoshiro directly on the wrist.

Seigaku's vice-captain gave a yelp of pain, and his grip on the racket loosened. Said racket clattered to the floor near his feet.

"Momo-senpai!" Echizen was on his feet almost instantly. The Seigaku captain tried to make his way to his friend, but Momoshiro stopped him.

"Don't worry, Echizen. It's only a minor injury. Go back to your seat. The match isn't done yet." Momoshiro tried to sound reassuring, despite the throbbing pain in his wrist.

Ryoma was not fooled, of course. He was very positive he had heard a 'crack'. "Forfeit the match, Momo-senpai. You're in no condition to continue."

"Don't worry, don't worry." Momoshiro was already walking back, positioning himself to serve.

Needless to say, he could barely proceed on with the game, and he could hardly even return the opponent's shots, especially since the opponent was still hitting the shots with a high amount of spin to them.

"How persistent. Let's see how your wrist is going to stand this twice." He fired a power shot again.

The ball did not hit Momoshiro at all, for Ryoma intervened at that moment, hitting the shot away. "Enough, Momo-senpai." His voice was stern.

"Referee. We will concede this match." Ryoma announced before forcefully dragging Momoshiro off the courts.

"Echizen!" Momoshiro began to protest, but Ryoma silenced him with a slight smile.

"Leave the rest to me, Momo-senpai." He said quietly.

Momoshiro gave a sigh. "Gomen, Echizen." All because of him, now Ryoma would have to play against that devil Kirihara after all.

"I'm not blaming you. Now then, you will need to go to the hospital to have your hand treated. Kaidou-senpai. You will go with him." Echizen instructed.

"Eh? Why him/me?" Both Momoshiro and Kaidou asked at the same time.

Ryoma smirked. "Because you would most definitely make sure Momo-senpai doesn't wander off, and you would also make sure that he would return quickly, as I know you're hoping to see my match. Go on then, both of you."

They did so, very grudgingly of course. Ryoma could hear them arguing all the way as they left.

XXX

"Why do I need to play against a blind boy? Honestly, my skills are going to be wasted." Kirihara complained.

Ryoma merely smirked at that. "With your level of tennis, anyone can play against you with their eyes closed."

The Seigaku captain tapped his racket on his shoulder. "Ne. I've heard that you came to my club during my absence, haven't you?"

"Oh? I was only stopping by to say hello." Kirihara stated innocently.

Ryoma gave a soft, humourless laugh. "Is that so?"

Ryoma threw the ball into the air. "Well, I'll say hello too then." He served, and Kirihara didn't even have time to react at all.

"15-0"

Kirihara stared at the ball, which had rolled to the very end of the courts. Ryoma might be handicapped now, but he was no less powerful than before. In fact, he seemed to have gotten stronger.

He turned back to face Ryoma. No wonder this guy had unlocked the Pinnacle of Perfection. He could not afford to go easy on this brat.

Using just serves, Ryoma clinched the first game.

"How scary, Echizen Ryoma. Now then, it's my turn to serve now." He gripped the ball, released it into the air and fired a shot.

The ball hit the ground, spun very rapidly and bounced upwards, hitting Ryoma on his right arm.

"Ceh…knuckle serve…" Ryoma realized. He had to hand it to Kirihara though. The Rikkai Dai captain must have guessed that his right arm was still weak, since he had not used his right-handed twist serve.

"Ah, gomen, gomen. My serve is just too uncontrollable. It was not my intention to hit your arm. After all, it wouldn't do for you to injure it again now, would it?" Kirihara taunted.

Ryoma smirked in reply. "I'm not offended. Your serves are horrible after all."

"Is that so? Here's another one then." This time, the knuckle serve was aimed at Ryoma's face. He managed to dodge it slightly, and it merely grazed the side of his cheek.

"Oh? Not bad reflexes. That's good. It would be boring if you were defeated so easily." Kirihara served again.

By now, Ryoma was able to roughly guess where Kirihara's target was. If he had his sight, he would have been confused. But now, using just his hearing, he could tell the difference with each shot because of the rustle it made when it spun on the ground.

'It's aimed for my knee.' Very quickly, Ryoma moved his racket to block the shot, returning it swiftly to a shocked Kirihara.

"Whoa! Echizen returned Kirihara-buchou's Knuckle Serve." The Rikkai Dai regulars were whispering amongst themselves.

'Was that just a lucky guess?' Kirihara couldn't help wondering. He tried again, and surely enough, Ryoma was able to return the serve each time.

It was Ryoma's turn to serve again. Once more, he used his high speed serve.

This time, however, Kirihara was able to catch up with the shot, thanks to his one-foot split step.

Ryoma had a disadvantage when it came to speed. His newly-healed leg did not allow him to use the one-foot split step, and at most, he could do just the regular split step that required both his feet instead.

Kirihara noticed this, of course. "Oh? You're pretty slow, Echizen. What's wrong? Can't you run any faster?" he deliberately made Ryoma run all over the courts.

"Ch…" Ryoma knew that he would not be able to win against Kirihara if he were to run around like that. It looked like there was only one way left.

"If you're so confident in your speed, you can do all the racing about then." Ryoma fired a shot at Kirihara.

"Hmph! Let's see how you're going to catch up to this. Fetch!" he fired a shot at a corner.

"That's too fast. Ryoma-buchou would never be able to catch up to that." Kachiro exclaimed.

To everyone's surprise, the shot returned to Ryoma, and he calmly hit it over the other side.

"Ceh…I'll aim for another corner then." Kirihara fired a shot again.

Ryoma didn't need to budge at all as he returned the shot. It was only then did Kirihara realize what was going on.

"Tezuka Zone…" Against such a godlike technique, it didn't matter which part of the court he aimed at, the ball would always return to Ryoma.

"Game, Seigaku's Echizen. 3 games to 2." The referee announced.

No matter how Kirihara tried, he couldn't seem to break past the Tezuka Zone, and Ryoma was gaining the upper hand.

"Damn! There must be a way to deal with this…oh shit!" he accidentally hit a lob.

The next moment, Ryoma had already leapt up, using his Cyclone Smash.

"Game, Seigaku's Echizen. 5 games to 3."

"Kuso! I'm not going to lose like this!" The next moment, all of Kirihara's sweat evaporated as he entered the state of self-actualization.

"Muga no Kyouchi…now this would be a little troublesome…" Ryoma muttered to himself.

Surely enough, Kirihara's shots became more powerful and more accurate now that he had 'awakened', and Ryoma found himself having to go defensive.

Kirihara was still no match to the Tezuka Zone though, and Ryoma managed to trick him into using a lob again.

"Cyclone Smash!" Again, Ryoma used his skill.

This time, Kirihara used Higuma Otoshi to counter it, and the ball flew over to Ryoma, as it was still under the influence of the Tezuka Zone.

"It would be best if you don't use Muga no Kyouchi too often, Kirihara Akaya." Ryoma smirked. True, the state of Self-Actualization did give one an incredible advantage; however, it was also a killer to the user's stamina. Ryoma would know, since he was a user of this skill before.

"40-15. Match point!" The referee announced.

Kirihara's eyes had become bloodshot. "You're really pissing me off now, Echizen. I'll kill you…"

Now that he had gone into Devil Kirihara mode, his attacks were becoming faster and more brutal, and even with the Tezuka Zone, Ryoma was finding it difficult to defend his games.

Needless to say, Kirihara was slowly catching up with his score.

"Now then, the Tezuka Zone is a skill which you add a certain amount of spin to the ball, guiding it back to you now, isn't it?" Kirihara licked his lips.

He fired another shot, and this time, when Ryoma returned the shot, he added his own spin to the ball to cancel out the spin made by Ryoma.

Surely enough, the ball did not return to Ryoma, and the Seigaku captain was forced to run after the shot again.

When Ryoma returned the shot, Kirihara aimed for his stomach, and while Ryoma did manage to block the attack, the force of the shot had thrown him backwards.

His Tezuka Zone had been broken. He would have to think of some other way now.

Kirihara went offensive, and without the Tezuka Zone, Ryoma was having a hard time against the Devil.

"Game, Rikkai Dai. 5 games all." The referee announced again.

"Oh? I've managed to catch up. Too bad for you, Echizen. Victory would be mine this time." He snickered.

Ryoma merely smirked in reply. He fired his high speed serve again, and the Devil Kirihara caught up to it easily.

The ball returned to Ryoma, and Kirihara gave a snort of laughter. "Tezuka Zone again, you really haven't learnt your lesson, have you?"

He cancelled out the spin made by Ryoma with a spin of his own, and…

The ball returned to Ryoma.

'What the…that doesn't make any sense!' Kirihara thought, trying again.

The ball returned to Ryoma.

"What the fish?!" Kirihara swore.

"Baka. This is not the Tezuka Zone. This is Echizen Zone, the upgraded version of it. You will not be able to win at all." Ryoma said quietly. Kirihara didn't know this, but Ryoma had doubled the amount of spin on the ball, so when Kirihara cancelled out the first spin, he had changed it into an ordinary Tezuka Zone, which then made the ball return to Ryoma.

"Game and match, won by Seigaku's Echizen. 7 games to 5." Cheers erupted from the stands the minute the score was announced, and it didn't take long before Ryoma found himself squashed by all his teammates.

"You're really fated to be defeated by blind people. First Fuji-senpai, and now me. Consider this my repayment to you for coming over to my club, Kirihara. Mada mada dane." Echizen said, walking off with his teammates.

XXX

After the prize-giving ceremony was over, Ryoma was about to run off back to Kyuushu when he found himself swarmed by reporters.

"Echizen Ryoma-kun. It's most impressive that you could defeat your opponents in this condition. I think you're really the first person in history to do this. What do you have to say?"

"Mada mada dane." Ryoma replied. He really wanted to go back to Kyuushu before the doctors noticed that he was gone…then again, they would most probably have noticed by now.

The reporters were still crowded around him though, blocking his escape route. "Echizen-kun. To be able to defeat Rikkai Dai captain Kirihara Akaya-kun, what are your feelings?"

For a moment, Ryoma blinked, and a blank look came upon his face. After a long while, he finally said one word.

"Blue."

"Blue? You're feeling blue? But you've just won." The reporter asked incredulously.

Slowly, Ryoma shook his head. He lifted his hand and pointed with one finger. "_Blue_."

Everyone followed the direction as to where he was pointing at.

There, swaying gently in the wind, was the Seigaku flag…

To be continued…

A/N: Finally managed to finish this. I really apologize for the delay. These chapters are really a killer. Brain drain…

So sorry that some of the competitions are so rushed. I seem to be always beating my old word count record, even though I'm trying to keep the chapters short. With the chapters so long, some of you might pass out before you could even finish the chapter. :p

Bleh…Amane's lame puns were a killer, since I suck at writing puns. I hope none of you had fainted while reading them.

As mentioned, I would be following the manga's storyline (except the US-Japan thingy), so Kirihara Akaya would have both the State of Self-Actualization and the Devil Kirhara mode. In the manga, Fuji was temporarily blind after a shot hit him in the head. (courtesy of Kirihara Akaya, of course), but Fuji still managed to defeat him in the end.

**merissala**, Kirihara doesn't have an older bro. The fellow only exist in my fics. XD

**Sakura Moon**, yeah…Fuji isn't really that sadistic in my fic. :p About the sushi thingy, yeah, Kawamura might whip up a new menu on Fuji's request. Poor K-High. Ufufufufu…. Also, the Gary Sue OC would be appearing in LAS more often than he will appear in EOB, though you won't see his skills until the Nationals.

**slyswn28**, you like Phillip? Yay! He'd be gone in the next chapter though.

**md2012**, lol. Your poor friend, forced to watch POT and now she's a fangirl like us. I'm glad you liked the two fics.

**I would be going on a temporary hiatus, as my exams begin next week and would only end after the 5****th**** of May. Only after then I would be typing my next chapters, so please be patient with me.**

**Please Read and Review. No flames please.**

**-Gwyn**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. I only own my OCs.**

**Warning: May contain spoilers for the latest manga chapters. Shonen-ai fic.**

**Pairings: Tezuka X Echizen, Momoshiro X Ann**

**(This chapter is followed by chapter 19 in Life After Seigaku)**

A/N: I'm back! Did anyone miss me?

Firstly, a million apologies for the super later update this round. My writing muse left me for a vacation, and had only just returned recently.

Anyone out there who saw the latest few chapters of the manga? Prince of Tennis has really gone crack! Yakiniku competition between Seigaku, Hyotei, Shitenhouji, Higa Chuu and Rokkaku. Poor Inui fried his ::ahem:: on the grill. Ouch… Tezuka's to blame for (accidentally) pulling his (Inui's, not Tezuka's) pants down. XD

I hope the Seigaku VS Rikkai Dai match would start soon. I was hoping to see more of Yukimura in action, since not much is known about him (except that he's supposedly stronger than Tezuka). I was hoping to capture his actual characteristics and skills before I start typing the Nationals in my fic. If he really is so powerful, I might make Tez lose one match (for once). Ufufufu…

**Rita**, ohohoho. The answer to that question is in this chapter.

**Potato-chan**, arigatou. I hope my fics aren't too long. Already trying to cut down on the words so that I won't send readers off to la-la land with my fics..

**Sammielie**, thanks. Once upon a time I wasn't fond of Boy X Boy pairing as well (until I stumbled upon Kyou Kara Maou and Prince of Tennis) I'm not intending to publish this, coz that will be like stealing from Konomi-sensei's ideas, twisting it a little and profiting off it. I'm letting it remain a free fanfiction, so that all can read it. (I will get mad if anyone publishes my fic and starts selling it though)

**Jess**, md2012's friend is not the only victim. I too got corrupted by my pals and cousins. That's how I ended up becoming such a POT (not pot!) fan too. Let us fans unite. XD

**Thank you all for your reviews.**

To the story then…

**Echizen, Our Buchou**

By: Gwynhafra

Chapter 17

People usually didn't appreciate what they had until they have lost it, but when that which was lost was found again, people would learn to treasure it more.

Ryoma certainly thought so as he got off the taxi, which had driven him back to the center from the airport.

Now that he was back in Kyuushu, he didn't really feel like going back to the center just yet. Well, partially because he wanted to go sightseeing, now that he had finally regained the ability to do so, and also partially because he severely doubted the doctors and nurses would be welcoming him with open arms. He'd rather wait for Phillip to join him before returning to the center. Speaking of Phillip, would Ryoma be able to recognize him?

For a long while, he was just walking and looking around, taking everything into mind and making a mental tally of the visuals with the experiences he had when he was blind. This had to be the park near the center that he and Phillip frequented often. Walking around, he felt a sense of familiarity, yet at the same time, everything looked so foreign to him. It was a strange feeling. He had been here for more than three months already, and yet; it still felt as if he had only just arrived, since he had never seen this place before.

He had nearly given up on the hopes of getting his sight back, and just when he was trying to adapt to the eternal darkness, his sight returned to him after the competitions. He looked up, seeing the clouds float past in the azure sky. Blue, he decided, was going to be his favourite colour from now onwards. Well, after brown that was. Brown was the colour of the hair and eyes of a certain someone after all.

He walked until he was tired. Seeking out the nearest vending machine, he got himself a can of Ponta and plopped down on a bench, watching a couple of kids playing in the park's courts. Just then, a hand landed heavily on his shoulder, causing him to turn around slightly.

A very disheveled looking blonde was hanging heavily over the back of the bench, looking as if he had been running without stopping for days.

"Finally…found…you…" He gasped, still out of breath.

Ryoma took another sip of Ponta. "Who are you?" He had never seen this guy before.

The blonde looked up, completely shocked. "You…that's why I said to wait for me before running back to Kyuushu! Look what you've done! You must have slipped and hit your head somewhere and now you've lost your memory!"

"I did not hit my head anywhere, and I most certainly did not lose my memory. Phillip." Now he knew who the guy was. The voice and the way he nagged were familiar enough for Ryoma to recognize him.

Phillip gave a sigh of relief. "You still remember me…good…"

Ryoma stood up and threw the can into the nearest bin. Now that Phillip was here, they had better make a move on to the rehabilitation center. "You're late. I would have thought that you would be here not too long after I did."

"Of course I would be late. I was about to rush over to Kyuushu until I remembered that you have graciously left all of our belongings at Momoshiro-san's house. I had to make a U-Turn to collect all our stuff before coming here." Phillip snapped exasperatedly.

"Oh? Is that so? Sankyuu." Ryoma stood up and began walking back to the center, or at least, wherever he thought the direction of the center was anyway.

Phillip shook his head slightly. As stubborn as always, this Seigaku captain. Sometimes he did wish Ryoma would just ask people for help, instead of acting recklessly on his own like that. "The center is this way, silly." He placed a hand on Ryoma's shoulder and steered him to the correct path.

Once the both of them reached the center, Ryoma halted in his steps to take in the sight of the center. It was exactly as he had pictured it to be- Huge, white and spacious. Not to mention he could see the sports facilities they have prepared at the center. Definitely a good place for injured athletes to recuperate.

A man, who was slightly balding and who had a head full of grey hair, was now running over to their direction. "Echizen-san! There you are! Do you have any idea how worried you've made all of us?"

"Who is he?" Ryoma asked Phillip.

"Are you sure you haven't lost your memory, Echizen-sama? You don't even recognize the voice of your doctor, Sagashita-san anymore?" Phillip hissed back.

"Oh? So he's Doctor Sagashita? He looks older than how you've described him." Ryoma stated.

"Of course I would look older! I'm already sick with worry of whether you've been kidnapped and you have no idea how much of my hair had fallen off. My hair was black…what do you mean I look older? How would you know that?" Both the doctor and Phillip stared at Ryoma's eyes.

"You can see again?" Phillip felt like kicking himself for not noticing sooner.

"Aa." Ryoma turned back to the doctor, who looked like he was torn between looking happy that his patient had finally had his sight back, and looking angry over Ryoma leaving the center without informing them _properly_ first.

Somehow, his facial expression had cramped up, making him look like he was half-laughing, half-crying. He extended a hand and placed it on Ryoma's shoulder, and the Seigaku captain winced when the grip tightened painfully, as the doctor seemed to be afraid that Ryoma would run off again now that he could see.

"Now then. I think it would be a good idea to walk back to your room and reassure everyone that you have not been kidnapped, have not been held for ransom, have not been participating in any riots and have not been killed. Understood?" The doctor's voice alone was deadly, and the slightly maniacal half-grin on his face made it worse.

"Right away." Ryoma mumbled obediently, jogging off with Phillip right behind him. He passed several nurses and doctors, whose expressions ranged from relieved to drop dead murderous when they saw him. Why on earth were these amongst the first few things he had to see now that he had finally had his sight back?

When they had finally reached his room, Ryoma hesitated for a moment outside the door, afraid that if he had gone in, he might be interrupting some filthy rich, injured athlete couple or something.

However, Phillip merely gave a laugh and led the way in. "This is your room, Echizen." Tentatively, Ryoma peeked into the room to make sure that Phillip wasn't pulling his leg, and when he was sure that the items in the room were most certainly his, he stepped into the room and stood there, trying not to gape.

When he first came here, he knew that it was a presidential suite, and by walking around, he knew that the room was huge. However, now that he was actually able to see the whole interior, he realized it was far grander than how he had pictured it. The walls were coated with a soft, satin sheet of green paint, and the room was filled with exotic potted plants and very expensive-looking sculptures. Even the doors connecting to the bathroom and clothes closet were made of gold. Speaking of the closet, he could fit the room of his house here.

As Phillip went about his task of unpacking their clothes, Ryoma took the opportunity to check out the bathroom. Apparently the bathtub could fit a family of 12 in it, and even the taps were made of gold. It had only occurred to him that the toilet was gold too, and he couldn't help rolling his eyes before walking back out and heading to his bed.

He sat down, giving the place one last glance. Did Atobe actually build all this for him just to show off his wealth, or was he just preparing for the chance that the Monkey King himself might somehow end up in this center someday for treatment. He had finally come to a conclusion after seeing all these, if it wasn't because Phillip was his guide, he might have died with his head stuck somewhere a long time ago. For the first time in months, Ryoma truly understood Phillip's role here, and was grateful that Phillip had done such a good job guiding him all these times. Heck, he didn't realize there were these many items in the room until he actually looked. Phillip really must have steered him clear from a lot of things.

Phillip stood up and straightened himself. "I've dealt with everything already, Echizen. Is there anything else you need?"

"No." Ryoma shook his head. He studied Phillip for a while. "Now that I'm actually looking at you…has anyone ever told you before that you look rather like the Monkey King?"

"Monkey King…? Oh! That nickname you gave Keigo-sama eh? I'm his cousin."

For a long moment, Ryoma stared. The Monkey King had sent his cousin over as his guide? Did that mean he owed Atobe more now? Wait…that also meant that he had been ordering a member of the Atobe family around like a servant for such a long time. That thought brought a small, evil smile to his face. He entertained himself for a while with the idea of ordering Atobe himself around instead.

"You're that guy's cousin huh? So how did you end up becoming a servant? I thought you royalty would not stoop so low?" he asked, his arrogant gaze now fixed on the blonde.

Phillip gave a weak laugh. "Royalty? I'm not his paternal cousin. I'm his maternal cousin, so I am what he would call a commoner, just like you."

"You didn't sound at all awed when you first stepped in here." Ryoma pointed out. Any commoner who had stepped in this room for the first time would have their jaws dragging along the floor.

At that, Phillip looked rather sheepish. "I've always gone to Keigo's mansions, so I'm already used to his rather extravagant tastes."

He straightened up. "Well then, Echizen. Is there anything else you need?"

"No…by the way. Why aren't you calling me Echizen-sama anymore?" Ryoma asked. He had been getting so used to the wonderful honorific that he was getting mildly upset to not being called that anymore.

Phillip raised an eyebrow. "Oh? As of an hour ago, I am no longer your guide. My job ended the minute you had regained your sight, so I no longer have to address you as 'sama'. Now I'm helping you as favours from a friend."

"A friend? Who? Where?" His questions caused Phillip to fall over.

'This guy has never treated me as anything but a servant all these times…' Phillip thought mournfully. He wiped that thought out of his mind and stood up again.

"Anyway, tomorrow onwards, you will be on your own as I will be officially relieved from my duties and will be leaving on the next flight back to Tokyo. Will you be able to cope by yourself?"

"Of course. I wouldn't have a choice now, would I?" Ryoma asked dully.

Phillip gave a knowing smile. Ryoma would never admit it even if he would be unhappy with his guide leaving.

"Don't worry. Even if I'm gone, I think I have a little souvenir here for you." He rummaged through one of his bags and pulled out two items, handing them to Ryoma.

One was a gold medal, for the senior high Kantou competitions, and Ryoma knew whose this was. The other item was a note, written in neat, strong handwriting.

**Ryoma, **

**I've kept my promise to you. I will keep another one. Saturday, 1 pm. Go to the center's main hall.**

**Yours truly, Kunimitsu.**

Phillip tried to hide his grin as he spotted the sparkle in Ryoma's eyes. Ryoma glanced up at him, and before he could open his mouth, Phillip had a rough idea of what the junior high captain was going to ask him.

"Tezuka-san caught me when I was retrieving our belongings from Momoshiro-san's house, and he had asked me to pass those to you. How thoughtful of him eh, Echizen?" he teased.

"Ah. Be quiet." Ryoma muttered, adjusting his cap in an attempt to hide his slightly red face.

Phillip made to walk out the door. "If there's nothing else, I will now be filling in the forms to leave."

"Ok." Ryoma said. Phillip had barely walked out of the room when Ryoma called out to him again.

"While you're at it, go get me a can of Ponta."

There was a crash outside the room, and a 99 percent chance that Phillip had just fallen over again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Following Day

"Well then, Echizen-san." Dr Sagashita began as he smiled, his arms folded and his legs crossed. He sat up straight, every bit of him reeking of a businesslike manner, and somehow, it was causing Ryoma to shudder.

Phillip had only just left hours ago, and now Ryoma was once more taken to the examination room to 'check' on the latest extent of his injuries.

"I have the latest medical examination results with me, and I would say that I'm very impressed." He continued on in a rather toneless voice.

Ryoma's hope lifted. Did that mean he had finally made a full recovery and was now allowed to leave the center?

"I do wonder how you have managed to actually aggravate the injuries on your right hand, when you had been recovering so nicely before this. Also, you're covered in bruises on your legs and your stomach. Now then, how would you explain yourself?" he continued smiling sweetly.

Ryoma gulped. That stupid Devil Kirihara was to blame for this.

The doctor tossed the report onto the table, and Ryoma tried hard not to flinch. He, Echizen Ryoma would not be intimidated so easily, as he had a reputation to keep.

"Listen carefully, Echizen-san. Because of your new injuries, you will be staying here another 2 more weeks until you recover. Is that clear?"

"Eh? But I've recovered…"

"Is that clear?" The doctor asked again, as he snapped the pen he was holding in half for effect.

"Usu." Ryoma wisely agreed.

The doctor nodded, looking satisfied with the answer. "Now then. You will go back to your room and rest. You will be assigned a trainer to give you some practice for your right hand later. Understood?"

"Usu." Ryoma replied dully as he stood up and left once he was excused.

Once Ryoma had returned to his room, he gave a groan and threw himself on the bed. He couldn't believe he was grounded, in a rehabilitation center at that. Were doctors actually given the authority to confine people to their rooms?

He reached under his pillow and fished out his treasure, looking at it fondly. Tezuka said to go to the main hall at 1pm this Saturday. Maybe his boyfriend would have a package delivered to him at that time?

It was a good thing he was all alone in the room. If Phillip were still here, he might be intimidated by the sight of Ryoma grinning like an idiot in his room while clutching on to Tezuka's gold medal.

He definitely couldn't wait for Saturday.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In Tokyo

"Seigaku! Fight-O!" Momoshiro yelled as he led all of the club members in their laps around the tennis courts.

"Momo-chan buchou-dai sure is spirited today, isn't he?" Kachiro asked as he jogged alongside Katsuo.

"Aa. I think he's in brighter spirits after meeting Echizen-buchou in the Kantou Games. Momo-chan buchou-dai had been worried about how he's recovering after all." His doubles partner agreed.

The sophomore pair was the last of the regulars to finish their laps. The rest were already doing some cooling down exercises in the courts.

"Listen up, everyone. As all of you know, we've finally made it into the Nationals, so we really have to train harder from now onwards. First years, Court D. Second years, court C. Third years, court B. The regulars will remain in Court A. Before all of you leave, however, I have an announcement to make…"

Even as Momoshiro was speaking, someone had pushed open the doors to the tennis courts and stepped in. Everyone's eyes lighted up when they saw that person.

"Oh, she's right on time. Minna, I am pleased to announce that Ryusaki-sensei has finally returned to our club for good." Momoshiro's speech was greeted with cheers by the members.

"You're all looking well, minna. Momoshiro, looks like you've done a fine job even though I'm not around." Ryusaki smiled at him.

Momoshiro looked rather bashful at that. "It's not my effort alone. Everyone worked really hard to keep the club going."

"Is that so?" Ryusaki turned to face all the club members. "I apologize for returning to the club so late, even though I've said that I'd only be gone for 6 months. Now that I'm back, let's concentrate on the Nationals."

Everyone chorused their agreement to that. Just then, Horio, who was standing amongst the other sophomores, suddenly gave an exclamation, causing everyone's attention to turn to him.

"Wait a minute…if sensei is back as our coach, then Inui-senpai…"

Whispers broke out amongst all the club members at that. "That's right. We would not need a temporary trainer anymore now that sensei is back. That would mean that Inui-senpai need not train us any longer! No more Inui Juice!" the sophomore pair cheered.

"Who's not training who any longer?" Someone asked, breathing down their necks. Both Katsuo and Kachiro nearly had a heart attack because of that. They turned around slowly to find themselves staring at a pair of glinting glasses.

Inui then walked over to the front to join Ryusaki-sensei and Momoshiro.

"Ahem…well then, I'm also…pleased to announce that Inui-senpai has kindly volunteered to remain our trainer, as he wishes to help us out for the Nationals." Momoshiro said rather uncomfortably.

Inui grinned at all the faces staring at him, noting that a few were getting paler as the minutes passed. "That's all there is to it. I wish to remain as your trainer now that you are all preparing for the Nationals. Let's do our best ne?"

Of course, his thoughts weren't as noble as his words. 'Ufufufu…there's no way I'm leaving here. This place is filled with good data. Also, I can't abandon my wonderful guinea pigs, especially since they've been so cooperative for the past few months. It's safer for me to test my inventions on them first before letting my fellow Rikkai players take my wonderful concoctions. I definitely don't want to be choked by that overprotective Sanada again.'

At the thought of Sanada, Inui had to fight down a huge shiver. That stoic ex-vice captain killed the fun out of his inventions. While Yukimura had been kind (and curious) enough to try out Inui's creative confectionaries, Inui would always find himself knocking on heaven's doors if anything went wrong. Who would have known that Sanada could actually wield his racket like a sword…then again…that might not be too impossible. According to his data, Sanada did come from a dojo after all.

He hurriedly chucked those thoughts out of his mind as he placed a bright smile on his face. "Now then, Momoshiro-buchou dai. Won't you start practice already? My latest tonics will not be so effective if it's kept for too long. It's best consumed fresh."

"You have got to be kidding…" Momoshiro muttered. Ryusaki gave him a nod, signaling that he should begin practice already.

"Very well. Everyone, move to your assigned courts for practice." Momoshiro gave the order, and everyone jogged off in separate directions.

"I wonder if Ryusaki-sensei has managed to retain her level of tennis. All that training in Chibi Gakuen might have slowed her down eh?" Horio whispered to Katsuo and Kachiro.

"Saa…" Kachiro didn't know how to respond to that.

The next moment, however, Ryusaki herself loomed behind all three of them.

"Oh? Do you think I've gone senile just because I was away from Seigaku? Very well then. I'll let you be the judge of that. All regulars will be practicing against me. Horio! What are you still doing here for?"

"Hai! I'll be gone now!" The self-proclaimed three-year tennis experience player had fled, while his two friends looked like a pair of rabbits cornered by a fox.

"Tsun, Itsuki. Come to the courts." Ryusaki ordered, her gaze already promising some nice Spartan training.

As everyone watched on, the poor Psycho pair was sent dancing all over the courts as they tried to retrieve Ryusaki's extremely lethal shots.

"She's as scary as ever…" Katsuo shuddered.

"Aa." Kachiro agreed.

The sophomore pair flinched when Ryusaki suddenly called out. "Alright. That's enough for the both of you. Next pair, Kato, Mizuno."

"Hai!" They gulped as they made their way to take Tsun and Itsuki's places. As they walked past Inui, however, the data tennis player whispered to them.

"Good luck, both of you. Tsun and Itsuki have not missed a shot at all, so if the both of you do, you'd have to take double the amount of Penal Green Tea, since I have extra. Ufufufu…." His evil laughter trailed after them even as they now faced Ryusaki-sensei.

"That drink…I don't want it!" Already, both Katsuo and Kachiro were returning the shots with inhuman speed, since they already have such a burst of tension from the scare.

"Are the both of you only able to play if you're both under stress? You will both be fighting in the Nationals soon. By then, even this level of tennis isn't enough to beat your opponents." Ryusaki stated sternly.

By accident, the both of them left one side of the court unguarded, and Ryusaki scored.

"I see a huge weakness in your doubles. When the both of you are clear headed, your skills are weaker, but cooperation between the two of you is better. Once the both of you are under stress, your speed and strength increase drastically. However, you no longer play as doubles, but as singles, and your pace is all over the place. Kato, Mizuno. What do the both of you play doubles for?" Ryusaki questioned.

Both Katsuo and Kachiro looked like they didn't know how to answer that question. Ryusaki gave a sigh. "Inui. Prepare training for them to improve their formations even when they're under pressure. The both of you have potential. You just need more practice."

"Hai." They both said sheepishly.

Inui nodded. "I will prepare the training right away. Before that, however…douzo…" he poured out a glass of the latest Penal Green Tea.

THUMP!

"Kachiro! Hang in there!" Katsuo yelled as the shorter sophomore fainted on the spot from just the smell of the tea.

"Oh? Kachiro-kun hasn't even drunk this yet. I think it's better if I don't bring this to Rikkai Dai. There is a 200 percent chance that Sanada will definitely skin me if I did. It can't be helped. You'll have to finish all of this then, Mizuno-kun."

THUMP!

Apparently Katsuo had fainted as well…

Both Kaidou and Takahiro were spared from the nasty concoction as well. When Ryusaki-sensei was done playing against them, Momoshiro decided to call it a day.

"Alright. Everyone, please assemble back in Court A." he instructed.

"How lucky. He doesn't need to practice." Horio whispered to the revived Katsuo and Kachiro while throwing a pointed look at Momoshiro.

A vein throbbed on Momoshiro's head as he lifted up his right hand, which was still bandaged after the injury he had during the Kantou Games.

"You call this lucky, Horio-kun?" he demanded.

"Gomen! Momo-chan buchou dai." The sophomore hurriedly apologized.

Ryusaki swept her gaze around them club. "Hmm…you are all doing well indeed even though I was gone for such a long time. However, you still need more training. Now that I'm back, I won't allow any of you to get lazy."

As all of them were dismissed, Horio, Katsuo and Kachiro gave a sigh as they joined Momoshiro for a round of burgers.

"She's still so strict, that Ryusaki-sensei." Kachiro said.

"Aa. She has a point though. Amongst all the Seigaku regulars, the both of us are the weakest." Katsuo muttered sadly.

Momoshiro gave both of the sophomores a pat on the back. "You've won countless matches already. Ne, Kachiro, Katsuo? You can't think of yourself as weak na, you can't yo."

Momoshiro rubbed the back of his head. "However, our training is really getting tougher. At times like these I really envy Echizen. He must be happily relaxing and recovering at this moment, maybe lazing under some tree somewhere and drinking a can of Ponta. Oh wait. Maybe he's busy kicking someone's butt at tennis?"

"That does sound like him. Ah…Echizen's so lucky…" Horio sighed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In Kyuushu

The 'lucky' Seigaku captain was, at the moment, getting his butt kicked by his sadistic trainer.

"Come on now. Can't you run any faster? You still have 30 minutes to go." The trainer barked, while taking a quick glance at his stopwatch.

'I've only just recovered and you're giving me training this intensive already? Are you trying to break my legs?' Ryoma thought, jogging on the treadmill.

He had a feeling the trainer was getting his revenge over Ryoma's little "trip" back to Tokyo. Why else would he be given so much extra training on a Saturday?

Well, he would not give in. This training should be nothing for a Seigaku captain who had been through worse practices than this. "Mada mada dane." He muttered under his breath. He will not lose to this trainer.

The man looked up from his stopwatch. "Hmm? You have a point. This really isn't enough for you. All right then. I'll just turn up the speed." Before Ryoma could stop him, the guy had already pressed the button on the controls.

"EH?!" That was all Ryoma could say before he found himself running at full speed, while the trainer's smile was getting wider.

XXX

"Yarou…" Ryoma muttered weakly. He had just taken a shower and was now drying his hair off.

Once he was done, he took a glance at his watch. Kunimitsu mentioned one o'clock. It was only 12pm now. He had one hour to spare before then.

Ryoma gave a yawn. The training had caused him to feel extremely exhausted. Maybe he could take a short nap before heading to the hall after 1 to collect whatever package it was Kunimitsu had sent to him. After all, if he was only collecting an item, he could do that anytime.

With that decided, he set his alarm to ring in an hour's time before plopping himself down on the bed. A few minutes later, the green-haired boy had dropped off to sleep.

XXX

Ryoma opened his eyes blearily as he woke from his nap. He was still feeling rather sleepy, and was hard pressed not to give in to the temptation to drop back to sleep.

Yawning loudly, he rubbed his eyes with one hand, while his dominant hand picked up his alarm clock.

1.30 PM

"Eh? I overslept? Crap. The package Kunimitsu sent should have arrived already." Ryoma hopped out of bed, not bothering to even comb his hair. While he did say that he could pick up the package anytime, he was excited to see what his boyfriend might have sent him, so he didn't want to waste another moment.

Throwing open his doors, he was surprised to find someone blocking the doorway. Looking up, his half-asleep mind vaguely registered a familiar looking person with glasses and brown hair.

'Oh. So Kunimitsu decided to send himself to Kyuushu." His mind deduced stupidly. It took a few moments for his brain to be fully awake, and for it to function properly before it deduced that Kunimitsu didn't send himself to Kyuushu. He was not an item. He came to Kyuushu instead.

"Kunimitsu…incredible…I must still be asleep." Ryoma murmured. It was definitely a very nice dream he didn't want to wake up from. Why else would Kunimitsu be here?

A slow smile spread on his boyfriend's face. "Don't tell me you've forgotten my promise. I did say that I will come meet you after the Kantou Games." Tezuka said softly, reaching out to ruffle Ryoma's hair. His touch certainly felt real.

Ryoma blinked. 'Oh yeah…Kunimitsu did mention that. How could I have forgotten?' With that, a smile came upon his face. His Kunimitsu was in Kyuushu!

"It really is you. I was afraid that I was only dreaming." Ryoma said happily, throwing his arms around his boyfriend. He ran his fingers through the older boy's soft, brown hair, which further convinced him that he wasn't sleepwalking.

Tezuka wrapped his arms around Ryoma, with both his hands linked at the small of Ryoma's back, pulling him closer. After a while, Tezuka moved his hands to Ryoma's shoulders instead.

"I can guess that you haven't had lunch yet." Tezuka suddenly said.

Ryoma blinked up at him. Now that his boyfriend had mentioned it, he had not eaten anything at all, since he was too tired from training and had dropped off to sleep right after bathing. How did his boyfriend know that anyway?

Tezuka led him out of the room, heading towards the cafeteria. The older boy got them both Set Lunch A, and both ate quietly. It was only after the both of them were done eating did they strike a conversation.

Not surprisingly, Tezuka had mentioned about Ryoma sneaking back to Tokyo without telling him about it first, and the Seigaku captain winced.

"Gomen…it was a spontaneous thing, and I didn't want to distract your attention from your competitions." Ryoma stole a look to assess Tezuka's reaction. The K-High captain wasn't angry now, was he?

Tezuka's lips twitched ever so slightly. His boyfriend reached out and touched his head. "I was only joking. When I've heard of your return, I knew that it sounded just like something you would have pulled off, so I wasn't too surprised."

'Ceh. He got me there for a moment. I thought that he would be angry.' Ryoma thought, relieved.

Their conversation continued on for a while. After some time, they got up and returned to Ryoma's room. Tezuka had mentioned that he had something he wanted to give Ryoma. So he was right in guessing that Kunimitsu had a package for him?

He tried not to let his eagerness show on his face. What was it that Kunimitsu had for him? A whole carton of Ponta? The latest Tennis Monthly issue?

He waited eagerly while Tezuka retrieved the items he had brought. After a while, Tezuka handed him a few files.

Ryoma took a glance at them. To his surprise, they were all notes for his subjects. He briefly flipped through the notes. History, Geography, Science, Math.

"You…compiled this?" he finally asked, noticing that the notes were all handwritten.

"Aa. You were away from school for over 3 months already, and I went to ask your classmates about the lessons you have missed. I've tried my best to simplify those notes already. If it's still confusing, please let me know." Tezuka replied.

Ryoma didn't really know what to think about this. His Kunimitsu was either incredibly devoted to him or terribly unromantic for giving these to him. Then again, romance was hardly a part of their relationship, as the both of them really acted nothing like other normal couples.

'Kunimitsu really didn't have to worry that much. My grades are always above average even though I hardly study at all. I'm sure these will be a piece of…' He flipped through a few more pages. 'On second thought, I'll need to be doing a lot of reading to catch up this round.'

Ryoma smiled, looking up at his boyfriend. Aside from tennis, another thing that Tezuka was good at was _studies_. For the senior high captain to be rereading junior high subjects just to make these notes for him, it was Tezuka's own way to show his affections, however unromantic it might seem.

"Sankyuu, Kunimitsu. You went through all these trouble for me." Ryoma kissed his boyfriend as his way of thanks.

As Ryoma flipped through the notes, Tezuka cleared his throat. While Tezuka's face was as expressionless as ever, the way he was shifting slightly on the spot showed that he was uncomfortable about something.

"Ryoma…I was hoping that for today, we'll go through those notes of yours." Tezuka finally said.

Ryoma stared at him. Wait…aside from giving him the notes, the other reason Kunimitsu came to Kyuushu was to revise with him only? No tennis? That was beyond unromantic.

"It's already late afternoon, so there really isn't much time for us even if we go out now. Instead, I was hoping we could use the rest of the day to study."

Ryoma wasn't too surprised to hear this coming from Kunimitsu. This was the studious Kanto High captain/model student after all.

"I was thinking of going out on a date with you tomorrow, as we will have the whole day then. I'm only returning to Tokyo late evening." Was that a hint of a blush on Kunimitsu's face when he mentioned 'date'?

Ryoma looked relieved. So they would be having a date after all. One of the first things he had on his mind once he had regained his sight was to have a match against his boyfriend. "I see." He agreed.

Tezuka picked up one of the notes-Math. Ryoma took a chair and sat next to him. Whatever it was, he would do his best not to complain, not after all the trouble Kunimitsu went to just to tutor him.

XXX

Throughout the session, one thing that really impressed Ryoma was the concentration Tezuka had, be it his studies or on the tennis courts. The Kanto High captain could concentrate on something without getting distracted at all.

Currently, Tezuka was tutoring him on History, as they have already been through the Math notes. It was a no wonder this was Tezuka's best subject. As the Kanto High captain spoke, Ryoma wondered how a subject this tough could actually sound so easy if it came from the brunette's lips.

Ryoma found himself being distracted by thoughts about tomorrow's date, and also distracted by Tezuka's voice. To his dismay, he found himself drinking in that deep, hypnotic voice instead of the words.

Tezuka caught him staring once, and Ryoma hurriedly made it look like he was only staring at the notes.

"Would you like to take a break?" Tezuka asked, sounding concerned.

Ryoma shook his head. "There's no need to. Go on." Yosh! He would not lose to Kunimitsu. If his boyfriend could keep his concentration for so long, he should be able to do the same.

As Tezuka took the science notes, he looked thoughtful.

"Seeing this subject reminds me. Your class had a short quiz on this a while ago. I believe one of your regulars, the one called the Chessmaster had scored nearly full marks on this. He wishes for me to pass the message to you that he had beaten your high score."

"Nani?!" Ryoma's eyes narrowed. 'Yarou…is that guy trying to challenge me?'

"Oh. Kato-kun mentioned that he had beaten your Math score, and Mizuno-kun mentioned that he had beaten your History score." Tezuka added after a while.

All his scores were beaten? There really was no time to lose.

"Mada mada dane." Ryoma was now pouring through the notes with renewed concentration. He hated the idea of them getting better scores than him, when his grades were always above theirs.

XXX

By 7, Tezuka had decided to call it a day. They had dinner at the cafeteria and once they were done, Tezuka picked up his bag.

"It's getting late, so it's best if I take my leave now. I shall meet you tomorrow morning, Ryoma." Before he could turn away, however, Ryoma called out to him, halting him in his steps.

"Where will you be staying?" the green-haired captain asked curiously.

"Tachibana's place. I've called him up beforehand to ask and he said it's alright if I stayed over, since his roommate Chitose would be away for a few days." Tezuka explained.

Ryoma adjusted his cap, trying his best to cover the blush on his face as he spoke again. "Then…would you like to stay over at my room instead?"

Tezuka stared at him. "I can't do that. It would be too much of a hassle…"

"Then you'll be troubling Tachibana-san instead. It's just one night, Kunimitsu. I don't mind." Ryoma said.

Tezuka seemed to be thinking about it for a while. 'Please say yes. Please say yes.' The same line was repeating itself in Ryoma's mind.

"Alright." Tezuka finally relented, making a call to Tachibana to tell him about it, while Ryoma gave an inward cheer.

Once Tezuka had set his bag on the floor, Ryoma took a futon.

"You'll sleep on the bed tonight. I'll use Phillip's old futon." He said.

Tezuka shook his head. "No. This is your room, Ryoma. You'll sleep on the bed. I'll sleep on the futon."

'Kunimitsu was being polite as usual', Ryoma thought. "Yadda." Ryoma insisted. No matter what, he would let his boyfriend have the bed.

After a brief battle over who gets to sleep in the futon, Tezuka gave a sigh.

"Let's decide this on Peasant's Game…er…I mean, Rock, Scissors, Paper."

Ryoma blinked. He must have heard that wrong. Rock, Scissors, Paper? He raised an eyebrow, looking for confirmation.

"The winner will get to choose where he wishes to sleep on." Tezuka was already hiding his left hand behind his back. Ryoma hadn't heard him wrong after all. So the mature Kunimitsu did have a childish side after all.

Seconds later, Ryoma was happily curled up in the futon. "Mada mada dane, Kunimitsu. Oyasumi."

Tezuka gave a sigh of defeat. "Oyasumi, Ryoma." He had no choice but to sleep on the bed.

XXX

Ryoma slowly opened his eyes as the sun rose higher in the sky, its rays shining on his face through the curtains. He rolled over slightly, feeling so snug and comfortable that he didn't really want to get out of bed at all.

Wait a minute…bed?

His eyes snapped open as he sat up. Surely enough, he was on his bed. But that couldn't be possible. He recalled sleeping in the futon, while Kunimitsu slept on the bed. If he was here, that meant…did Kunimitsu secretly trade places with him when he was asleep?

He threw a glare at the futon, only to find it empty. Where was Kunimitsu?

"Kunimitsu?" he called out, his eyes darting around the room for any sign of his boyfriend.

Not too long later, the brunette walked out of the bathroom, looking like he had freshened up. "Oh. You're awake." Tezuka said, having already changed into casual wear.

Ryoma threw him a glare. "Weren't you supposed to be the one sleeping on the bed? What am I doing here then?"

"I woke early, so I decided to put you on the bed since I'm already up, and would most likely not be sleeping anymore." Tezuka explained.

"Oh." So that was why he was on the bed. He got up and yawned, stretching slightly before heading over to the bathroom with a change of clothes. Tezuka looked to be fully awake. What time did the Kanto High captain usually wake anyway?

After he was done, Ryoma walked out, drying his hair as he did so. "So where will we be having breakfast? The cafeteria?"

Tezuka shook his head. "I mentioned that it would be a date for the both of us today, so we won't be staying in the center. We're going out for breakfast."

The brunette headed towards the door. Though before he did, he turned back. "Are you joining?" he asked, a small smile on his face.

Ryoma brightened at that. "Usu."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After breakfast, the both of them walked around Kyuushu, with Tezuka being their guide, of course. The last time they went sightseeing couldn't really be counted, as at that time, Ryoma didn't have the ability to do so.

All the way, Ryoma was feeling excited over the idea of them playing tennis later, though he couldn't help getting sidetracked as they walked past a game center.

"Ryoma?" Tezuka called up to him when the younger boy had halted in his steps.

Ryoma stared at the center for a while. Not too long later, he turned his golden orbs to his boyfriend.

"Ne, Kunimitsu. Is it alright if we make a stop here?" There was no mistaking that hopeful tone in his voice.

Tezuka, on the other hand, had a different definition of the place. According to his inner dictionary, this was a place people hung out to waste money on machines that could corrupt your mind. (He was brought up strict after all). His eyes narrowed with dislike as he stared at the people going in and out of the center, wondering what kind of people were they.

"Kunimitsu?" Ryoma called to get his attention.

Tezuka snapped out of his thoughts and gave a very faint smile. "You go on in then. I'll wait here."

A huge surge of disappointment ran through Ryoma, and he was sure it must have shown on his face. He gave a shrug. "I'll be going in then."

With that, the younger boy turned around and disappeared into the building.

Tezuka was becoming slightly fidgety even though Ryoma had only left his sight for a few moments. What was he thinking, letting Ryoma into a place like that? Who knew what kind of people his boyfriend might run into? His mind began projecting images of Ryoma cornered by bulky ruffians with a body full of tattoos, and the leader sporting a few gold teeth. Before his mind could come up with more visuals, he was already running into the building without wasting another moment.

To his surprise, Ryoma had been waiting near the entrance. "You came after all. Took you long enough." The dark-green haired boy had trouble hiding a smirk.

Tezuka kept one hand on Ryoma's shoulder. "I'm not letting you into this place alone." He muttered.

Ryoma cocked his head to one side. Just what kind of rumours did Kunimitsu hear about video game centers anyway? Was this guy even a normal teenager? Sometimes Ryoma did have the feeling he was dating an old man.

To say that Tezuka was tense in here was a complete understatement. The older teen was trying not to even bump into anybody, wary that he would start an unintentional fight by doing so.

"You don't have to be that cautious, Kunimitsu. They don't bite. I've been to game centers plenty of times, and they're pretty safe." Ryoma reassured him.

Tezuka's gaze was pinned on him at that. "You've been here often? When and with whom?"

"Momo-senpai, of course. We hung out after school for burgers, for street tennis and for video games after all." Ryoma answered honestly.

Tezuka was muttering something under his breath, which sounded suspiciously like "That Momoshiro will be running till sundown for bringing my Ryoma to this kind of places…"

Ryoma spotted a shooting game machine. "Come here, Kunimitsu. This one is easy. Even if you're a first timer at playing this, I'm sure you'll be able to pick it up in no time. Here. You'll be player two." Considering Tezuka's accuracy when it came to tennis, he doubted the older captain would have any trouble with this at all.

"Aa." Tezuka reluctantly took the gun Ryoma handed to him. He had a bad feeling about this, but there was no backing out now, especially since Ryoma was already inserting coins into the machine.

XXX

Ryoma had just found out that his ever perfect boyfriend was human after all. Apparently, Tezuka did have his flaws- he couldn't play any video games to save his life.

They couldn't even get past the first boss with the shooting game, Tezuka's character died a fiery death in the racing game, and he didn't even want to touch the fighting games.

Aside from Tezuka's inexperience, the Kanto High captain's overly serious character was to blame as well.

"I've had enough of these games. I would prefer watching you play." Tezuka finally admitted.

"Maybe it's a bad idea to come here. Let's go somewhere else." Ryoma suggested.

His boyfriend shook his head. "It's alright. I prefer being the audience."

Ryoma glanced at the remaining tokens in his hands. It would be a waste if they were to walk out just like that. He would have a few last games before taking Tezuka out of this place then. The older boy didn't seem to look comfortable in here anyway.

As Ryoma started a street fighter game, Tezuka began frowning.

'Is this game promoting violence?' He couldn't help wondering.

A few teenagers were snickering amongst themselves nearby the two, and Ryoma picked up bits of their conversation.

"Did you see how the guy in glasses was playing just now? How mortifying."

Tezuka stiffened slightly behind Ryoma. Apparently he must have heard them too.

"He looks rather like a sensei. What's a teacher doing here anyway?" Another added.

While Tezuka still remained composed, Ryoma wasn't that patient.

"Ne. You're all noisy. Can't you all just sit at some corner quietly? You're distracting my game." He told them.

"Such a cocky brat! Who do you think you're talking to, boy?"

"Is there anyone else there?" Ryoma countered arrogantly.

Now Tezuka looked hard pressed to not grab Ryoma and drag him bodily out of this dangerous place. "Ryoma…" His voice held a warning tone to it, while his ever stern gaze was focused on the seething bunch of youths.

Ryoma turned to the bunch of teens and smirked slightly. "Ne. It is rather boring to play by myself. Why don't we have a short duel of this? I will play against one of you, and if you lose, you'll leave quietly. If I lose, I'll leave."

"Ryoma!" Now Tezuka's hands were twitching slightly. Yup. He was pretty sure he'd be able to carry Ryoma away from here. Ryoma wasn't that heavy anyway.

The Seigaku captain turned to him, and Ryoma gave him a small, reassuring smile. 'You're always the one defending me. It's about time I return the favour.'

"Very well. I'll play against you, boy." One of the youths plopped down at the fighting machine just next to Ryoma's and entered the game as a challenger, since both machines were interconnected.

Ryoma gave a smirk as the game began, and both virtual characters began bashing each other up mercilessly. It was a good thing Ryoma had plenty of practice with Momoshiro (with the vice-captain teaching him some secret moves), so he was able to win the game.

"You lost. Bye then, all of you." Ryoma waved at them.

"Not yet. Why don't we compete with that machine?" One of them jabbed his thumb in the direction of a punching game machine.

"Betsuni." Ryoma shrugged, getting to his feet and making his way to said machine.

"How does this work anyway?" He heard Tezuka ask him quietly.

"You're supposed to punch that boxing glove-like thing, and the machine will give you your score based on the power of your punch." Ryoma explained briefly.

The youths began first, and one of the bulkier ones gave a punch, knocking the glove down. Immediately the scores began flashing on the screen.

**700**

"How much is the maximum score?" Tezuka asked again.

"1000." Ryoma whispered back, rolling up his sleeve. Before he could go, however, Tezuka stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Let me try this one." Tezuka took off his jacket and handed it to Ryoma.

At seeing that it was Tezuka who wanted to play the game, all the youths burst out laughing.

"Try your best, Megane-kun. Don't lose."

(A/N: Megane-Spectacles)

"He's going to embarrass himself again."

"Yarou…" Ryoma scowled at them. The next moment, however, he looked at Tezuka in surprise, for there was no mistaking that aura he had felt suddenly.

'Hyakuren Jitoku no Kiwami! What is he thinking, using the Pinnacle of Hard Work now?' Ryoma thought, watching as Tezuka concentrated his strength to his left arm.

The youths didn't seem to notice anything though, as they continued jeering at him. All of them were silenced, however, when Tezuka knocked the glove down, and the scores flashed on the screen.

**950**

"You went all out, Kunimitsu." Ryoma smiled, handing the jacket back to his boyfriend. At least there was one machine he could play well.

"This is nothing for people who have taken karate lessons." Tezuka told him, and the youths wisely backed off at that statement.

"Who is that guy anyway?" one of them asked, staring at Tezuka.

"Eh?! It's Tezuka Kunimitsu and Echizen Ryoma! What are they doing here anyway?" Someone suddenly yelled, and the two suddenly found a lot of people's attention focused on them.

"The former Seigaku captain and the current Seigaku captain. They're roughly at the level of pros."

"That guy had just recovered, hasn't he?" One of them pointed at Ryoma.

"P-pro…?" The bunch of youths was now very sure that they were messing with the wrong people, and they quietly retreated.

"How would you know us?" Ryoma couldn't help asking.

3 boys, who looked to be junior high students, walked over to the two captains. "We're from Shitenhouji, and we saw both your performances last year."

"I can't believe that you've defeated Touyama-buchou. You too defeated Chitose-senpai." The guy pointed at Ryoma and Tezuka respectively.

"Who's Touyama?" Ryoma asked. He was bad at remembering names.

"Touyama Kintarou. The freshman you played against in the finals last year. Singles One." Tezuka told him.

"Oh. The guy who dresses like Tarzan and acts like him too. He's Shitenhouji's captain now?" Ryoma finally remembered the guy. He didn't like him, recalling that he was quite a sore loser.

(A/N: Please refer to the author's note below for explanation about this.)

"How rude. Don't call our buchou names. By the way, Touyama-buchou is most eager to play against you again. He assures you that he will not lose again."

"I hope so. Ask him to put up more of a challenge this time. Otherwise it would be boring." Ryoma said, putting his hands behind his head.

"You'll be highly surprised. Even if it's you, I don't think Touyama-buchou will lose now." The three Shitenhouji players smiled.

Ryoma frowned slightly. He had a bad feeling about this.

XXX

After Tezuka and Ryoma left the video game center, they dropped by a sports equipment shop briefly to pick up some grip tape for Ryoma before proceeding on to a café for lunch.

Tezuka ordered some grilled beef kebab, while Ryoma ordered fish burgers. As they ate, Ryoma found himself wondering if his stoic, serious boyfriend had ever eaten burgers before. Somehow, he couldn't quite picture that. Even now, while Ryoma had ordered for juice, Tezuka had gotten himself a cup of strong, bitter coffee.

He really felt like he was dating someone much, much older, instead of their current two years difference.

"Here you go sir. One extra large chocolate mint and strawberry sundae special." A waiter set down Ryoma's dessert order before him, and Ryoma stared at the treat eagerly. This looks good. If Momo-senpai were here, he might be so jealous to see what Ryoma was eating.

He must have put on quite a greedy expression on his face, for his boyfriend had given a laugh. "That looks like quite a sundae you've ordered." Tezuka commented.

Ryoma picked up the spoon, took a small scoop of the sundae and popped it into his mouth. The sugary sweet taste exploded on his tongue, and he felt like he was in heaven. This was so good…

He noticed Tezuka staring at him. "Why don't you order something as well?" He suggested. Tezuka did look like he wanted dessert as well.

His boyfriend complied, picking up the menu. His expression was serious as he stared at the choices available to him, and Ryoma had to hold down a laugh at seeing that Tezuka looked like he was deciding the answers in a test instead.

Finally, after a very long while, Tezuka had set down the menu and stopped a passing waiter. Ryoma was sure that he would be choosing something fancy, considering the amount of time he took to make his choice.

"I'll have one green tea ice-cream."

Green…tea…ice-cream? That was it?

'I really am dating an old man…' Ryoma thought. Though as Tezuka took a bite of his kebab, with his facial expression as unchanging as ever, Ryoma smiled slightly.

Well, whatever traits his boyfriend had, it was still endearing to him anyway, so he wouldn't be complaining.

XXX

After lunch, this time, they made a pit stop for Tezuka's sake--at the bookshop.

"Oh? This is cheaper than the ones in Tokyo." Tezuka was saying to himself as he browsed through several titles, picking out a few that had caught his attention.

Ryoma peeked at what Tezuka was holding, only to find himself staring at several huge tomes.

"Don't tell me you're going to read all that…" Ryoma asked weakly.

"Aa. This is very good for easy reading. It also helps you pass time. You want one?" As Tezuka asked, he picked up one of the huge volumes and held it before Ryoma.

"Easy reading…? I'll pass." Ryoma muttered, pulling down his cap a little. Only Kunimitsu would be able to read all these without falling asleep first. Ryoma would was most definitely not interested in reading something that looked like a dictionary.

As Tezuka moved from one shelf to another, Ryoma walked over to the magazines section instead.

"Let's see. I already have this copy of Tennis Monthly. Hmm…Junior High and Senior High Tennis Weekly seem to have a new edition though." He was already checking for the price of the magazines. Just then, he spotted another row of magazines and picked one up.

'What's this?' Ryoma thought, holding it before his face and reading the title.

_Fluffy Puffy Honey Bunny_

"Such an odd title. Why does it sound so familiar though?" he wondered to himself. He flipped through it. A mere millisecond later he gave a yelp, nearly dropping the magazine.

No wonder the title had looked so familiar. Wasn't this one of the magazines that his baka oyaji subscribed to?

There was no way he would be letting his Kunimitsu near these offensive material! Before he could put the magazine back, however, he heard Kunimitsu's voice near his ear.

"What are you buying, Ryoma?" Apparently Tezuka had leaned over and was now looking over Ryoma's shoulder to see what he was holding.

Ryoma instantly spun around, hiding the magazine behind his back. "It's nothing! What have you gotten? Let's go pay for your books."

"Aa. Then what about…" Tezuka made to reach for whatever it was Ryoma was hiding, but the Seigaku captain gave him a golden glare.

"I said it's nothing. Let's go."

Tezuka sighed. "Alright then." He spotted what it was anyway. Ryoma really was Nanjirou's son after all.

As soon as Tezuka had turned away and was heading for the counter, Ryoma hurriedly jammed the magazine back into the rack before following after him.

"I'll pay for these." Ryoma grinned, snatching the books out of Tezuka's hands before the older captain could stop him.

Once Ryoma had paid for it, he handed the bag of books to his boyfriend.

"Consider this as thanks for coming all the way here to see me."

Tezuka smiled slightly, taking the bag from Ryoma.

"Arigatou, Ryoma." He placed a hand on Ryoma's shoulder. "Let's head for tennis now."

"I've been waiting for that." Ryoma replied eagerly.

XXX

Ryoma pulled his red racket out of his bag, testing the strings slightly before heading over to the court. He waited for Kunimitsu to join him, eager to begin the match.

Tennis was definitely the best part of all their dates, Ryoma thought as he did some warm ups.

Finally, Tezuka faced him before the net, and with a spin of Ryoma's racket, it was decided that the Kanto High captain would serve.

Kunimitsu used his usual serve-his high speed serve, and Ryoma used his one-foot split step to return it.

'Goodness…the speed of the serve has increased by a lot. Also…the shot is heavy…' Ryoma thought.

"You've been practicing, haven't you?" Ryoma asked.

"Aa. For you to be able to catch up to that, I can guess that you've not been idle either." His boyfriend replied.

They played a rally against each other, for it was more enjoyable to the both of them then. Ryoma didn't use his Ten'i Muhou no Kiwami, as he was still unable to use that skill yet. Tezuka too was playing according to Ryoma's strength, as he too did not activate his Pinnacle of Hard Work.

Tezuka fired a shot, which knocked the racket out of Ryoma's hands, for he didn't expect it to be that powerful.

"You've let your guard down." Tezuka chided him.

"It won't happen again, Kunimitsu. You win this round. I'll win the next." Ryoma declared challengingly.

Tezuka's lips twitched upwards slightly. "We'll see." He served again.

True to Ryoma's word, the next round, he won in a tie-break. Their scores were even, and Ryoma thought he'd try something else.

"Ne, Kunimitsu. I'll be using my right hand to play against you. My hand needs a lot of practice now that I've finally recovered." With that said, he tossed his racket into the air, catching it with his right hand.

"Is that so? I'll play with my right hand too then." Tezuka too switched to his right hand.

Tezuka was a very versatile player, able to use both hands. Ryoma's right hand was stronger than his though, and before long, they had entered a tie-break.

They decided to leave it at that as they took a break. Right as they walked out of the courts, however, Ryoma started when he heard people clapping.

He looked around, realizing that the sides of their court were filled with park goers, all presumably here to see their match.

'There were that many people watching? Where did they come from? Why haven't I noticed?' Ryoma thought.

"They came to watch as our match went on." Tezuka told him.

Ryoma sat on the bench, fishing out a can of Ponta from his bag and popping it open before taking a satisfied sip. Kunimitsu, as usual, was drinking from a bottle of mineral water.

He looked up as he had the odd feeling of being stared at. Surely enough, there were a few kids (elementary schoolchildren, by the looks of it), who were watching both he and Kunimitsu meekly.

One of the braver ones walked over to Ryoma, though he stopped a few metres away, looking as if he was afraid that Ryoma might suddenly lunge at him.

"What do you want?" Ryoma asked. If the kid had something to say then hurry up and be done with it.

"A-anou…onii-chan…is it alright if we have a match against you?" The boy finally stated his intentions.

Ryoma took a sip of Ponta. This kid wanted to have a match against him and Kunimitsu? Even if he wasn't Inui, he could state the chances of this kid being able to beat them.

"Mada mada dane. You would not be able to last a minute against any of us." He told the kid honestly.

The boy whimpered, looking as if he was about to cry. It was at this time Ryoma's boyfriend came to the rescue as he managed to coax the kid from crying.

"It's alright. I'll play against you then. Your friends can join us." Tezuka told the child, who brightened up and ran back to his companions to tell them about it.

"You don't have to be so harsh to them. They're only children." Kunimitsu scolded him slightly.

Ryoma frowned. He had only told the kid the truth. What was so wrong about that? "They can't win against us anyway, so why give them false hopes?"

His boyfriend gave a sigh at his reply. "I don't think they meant to have a serious match against us. I believe they just want to play against us for fun. It wouldn't hurt to try training them a little. You might have club members like these in the future, so why don't you consider this as training for you as Seigaku captain?"

Ryoma took another gulp of Ponta. Well…if Tezuka put it that way…

"Fine then." He agreed.

XXX

Ryoma left it to Tezuka to teach them the basics. He would be able to tackle any tennis pro, or anyone who knew at least the basics of tennis anytime, but he was absolutely hopeless when it came to complete novices.

He watched as Tezuka instructed them on how to grip the handle of the racket, and how to swing the racket. Tezuka taught with such patience, he could actually pass off as a qualified trainer.

Somehow, watching them, Ryoma couldn't help being reminded of how _he_ was taught tennis.

::Flashback::

_A four-year-old Ryoma toppled backwards as he tried, and failed, to catch even a single shot from his father._

_Nanjirou walked over to the net, tapping his racket on his right shoulder._

"_What a pity, Ryoma. Your racket has almost touched my shot. Almost, but not yet."_

"_I'll hit the next shot." Even at that age, Ryoma disliked losing. He stubbornly got back to his feet, throwing his father a childish glare._

"_You said that so many times already, it's getting boring. Here's the next shot." The samurai served again._

_Ryoma tried to run as fast as his tiny feet could carry him, but the ball evaded his racket anyway, and he fell flat on his face._

"_Too fast!" Ryoma complained, looking as if he was about to cry._

_Nanjirou merely gave a smirk. "Mada mada dana, Ryoma. I'm going easy on you by using my right hand, but it looks like you still can't catch the shot."_

_Ryoma glared at him, stubbornly wiping away the few tears that did escape his eyes._

_Nanjirou sighed. "Looks like you're still ten years too early to learn the basics. We'll stop here for now."_

"_Yadda." Ryoma said stubbornly. He was going to hit that offensive light-green ball, no matter what it took._

_Nanjirou had already walked off the courts, picking an orange from one of the trees around their house and peeling it._

"_Fine. We'll continue then. Have an orange first, Ryoma. Maybe after that you'll be able to hit better." Nanjirou said, smirking slightly._

::End of Flashback::

Ryoma gritted his teeth. That baka oyaji really had an interesting way of teaching him tennis. All Ryoma's life, it was a 'watch and learn' method he had used to pick up tennis. Not once had his father given him proper _verbal_ instructions. They played against each other literally every day, and Ryoma had picked up the basics himself, honing his observation skills as he did so. Eventually, he could even pride himself to have copied every single move his father had.

Was it even a wonder he was so disgusted and bored with tennis when he first entered junior high?

"Ryoma, you'll try playing against one of them." Kunimitsu's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. It looked like Tezuka was done teaching them the basics.

The one facing Ryoma looked highly eager to begin the match. Ryoma wasn't surprised. Tezuka did have a certain way to perk up anyone's interest of tennis after all. He knew that from personal experience.

"I'll be serving." He told the boy, hitting the ball over. The shot sailed over the boy, who couldn't even come close to hitting it.

This happened several times, and Ryoma vaguely wondered if his oyaji had felt the same way when _he_ was unable to hit any of the shots. As the boy made a small hop to return one of Ryoma's shots (and failing again), Tezuka decided to intervene.

"I'll take over for you." He said.

Ryoma decided Tezuka would be a better trainer for these beginners. At least the older captain had more patience. He went back to drinking Ponta as the four elementary school students played against Tezuka, all enjoying themselves. Ryoma noted with interest that Tezuka too looked happy, a small smile on his usually expressionless face.

The Seigaku captain felt a surge of pride as he watched on. His boyfriend was really so perfect. He excelled in his studies, his tennis and now he really was a natural with these children. While Tezuka's peers would be afraid of him because of his poker face and his super strict character, these kids seemed quite attached to him. Ryoma mused that it might be because Tezuka reminded them of a coach, or perhaps a fatherly figure.

No sooner did that thought cross Ryoma's mind did he feel a twinge of sadness. Wait…where did that come from? Why should he be sad just because Tezuka was good with kids? He batted those thoughts out of his head.

He watched on as Tezuka continued playing against those children, who seemed to have gotten the hang of tennis and were now playing against each other. As Tezuka returned to sit next to Ryoma, the younger boy held out a towel to him.

"Must be hard for you." Ryoma stated.

Tezuka took off his glasses and wiped them. "Not at all. I'm glad to see more people eager to learn about tennis. For all we know, they might be the future opponents of Seigaku."

Ryoma chuckled at that. "Mada mada dane. Even if they are, it'll be long past our time, so we won't know for sure."

Tezuka rested for a while. Finally, he got up and took a spare racket from his bag. Two of his other rackets (and two of Ryoma's as well) were lent to the children to allow them to play amongst themselves.

"Now then. It's getting late. Why don't we have one last game while we still have the time?" Tezuka suggested, gesturing to an empty court.

Ryoma had no objections to that. "Usu."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It has been several days since Tezuka had returned to Tokyo, and Ryoma now lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

He had complete freedom as he waited to be discharged from the rehabilitation center, spending his days training at the park, or in his room flipping through the notes Tezuka (and Oishi, which he found out from Tezuka as to why the handwriting of his Geography notes were different from the others) had given him.

There was no Phillip around to nag at him. No Phillip around to read him boring history notes that put him to sleep. No Phillip to scold him over every single message the Seigaku captain had instructed for the blonde to send. He was free to do whatever he liked, whenever he liked. In other words, he was completely, absolutely, utterly…

…bored out of his mind…

His alarm beeped, and he got off his bed, deciding to give his belongings one final check. Today was the day he was discharged from the center after all. Several of the bodyguards Atobe assigned for him had entered the room earlier on to carry the bulk of his luggage to the private jet, and he was left with just a few bags, which he could carry by himself.

He walked out of the room with his belongings, throwing a final glance at the presidential suite which had housed him for the past few months. Finally, he closed the door behind him and left that room for good. Hopefully.

In the main hall, the doctors and nurses who had tended to him stood there. Dr. Sagashita walked forward and shook his hand.

"Echizen Ryoma. It has been our pleasure having you here. May you have a good flight back." He gave his well rehearsed/mechanical speech.

His mind, however, was conjuring completely different lines from his speech.

'Echizen Ryoma. It has been a complete _nightmare_ having you here. May you fly off and never return again. Good riddance, you brat.'

It was a good thing (for both Ryoma and the doctor) that Ryoma wasn't able to read minds. The junior high captain adjusted his cap slightly.

"Arigatou for everything." He stated in his emotionless tone.

"Don't mention it. With any luck, we may see each other again." Dr Sagashita replied.

'With any luck, may we never see another Seigaku captain again. My poor heart…' This was the actual translation to his sentence.

"I'm leaving now." Ryoma said, walking out of the center with Atobe's bodyguards. The doctors and nurses waved him off until the limousine had left their sights. It was only after that did they all give a collective sigh of relief.

"He's finally gone. Come, we must celebrate this." Dr. Sagashita told his colleagues, who gave a cheer to that.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In Tokyo

"Are you trying to start a fight Mamushi?"

"Let's take this outside, baka Momoshiro." Kaidou snapped back.

"Senpai-tachi are at it again…" Katsuo muttered, and his fellow regulars nodded in agreement.

It didn't last long though, as Ryusaki-sensei walked into the courts and pulled both their ears.

"Kaidou, Momoshiro buchou-dai. What kind of examples are you giving your underclassmen anyway?" She snarled.

"Itai…itai…itai…" The two of them muttered, losing their mood to quarrel immediately.

"10 laps, both of you. After that, you're both to pick up every single tennis ball in the courts."

"Hai." They obeyed immediately, jogging out of the courts. Ryusaki gave a sigh as they had somehow started fighting again.

"You're not running before me, mamushi!"

"I'm not going to lose to a snail like you, fsshhh!"

"Will this never end?" She wondered aloud.

The both of them were competing over who picks up the most tennis balls, and when they reached for the same one, it had somehow triggered a match between them. Again.

"Senpai-tachi never change now, do they?" Kachiro sighed.

"They're like that ever since they were freshmen, so it can't be helped. Oro? Haruka-chan. Why aren't you looking at the match?" Itsuki asked, ruffling his "little brother's" hair.

Takahiro said nothing as he continued staring out of the courts, watching as someone pushed open the doors to the tennis courts and entered.

Momoshiro hit a Jackknife, which Kaidou didn't manage to return. The newcomer, however, calmly drew his racket and hit it back. The ball shot off and landed in the ball cart perfectly.

"Mada mada dane…" Everyone was greeted with a familiar smirk.

"Echizen…" Momoshiro was the first to speak, once he had recovered from his surprised state.

Ryoma glanced up, a small smile gracing his lips.

"I'm back."

To be continued…

A/N: Finally finished this chapter. ::Gives off maniacal laughter as authoress succumbs to mental exhaustion, while the tennis regulars backed off wisely::

Saa…was Tezuka romantic/unromantic when he gave Ryoma those notes? What do you think?

Also, gomen about the scene where I made Tez such a klutz at video games. Someone pointed out to me that Tez was too perfect, so he had to have a flaw somewhere. So I've decided to make him bad at playing game machines. Muahahaha…don't kill me. This is fanfiction after all, so I'm free to plot.

As mentioned in one of the earlier chapters, I made Seigaku play against Shitenhouji in the finals, instead of the semi-finals (which is stated in the manga). Also, I stated in the earlier chapters that Ryoma defeated Kintarou, but actually, they had a draw in the manga, which came out only after I've posted up my story. (Ryoma had sliced the ball in half, resulting in a draw. -.-!!!). In this story, I'll stick to the 'Ryoma defeated Kintarou' plot.

I've actually thrown a hint for my sequel somewhere in this chapter, about one of the dilemmas Ryo and Tez would be facing in the sequel. Not giving spoilers though, so good luck trying to fish out the hint.

I've put in the 'orange' idea after watching Prince of Tennis: The Two Samurais-The First Game. It's hinted that Ryoma's US house had a lot of orange fruit trees around it.

**Last but not least, Please Read and Review. No Flames Please. Reviews help to keep my muse for going on a holiday again. Ehehe.**

**-Gwyn**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis. If I did, most of them would be paired up with each other. **

**Warning: May contain spoilers for latest manga chapter. Shonen-ai fic.**

**Pairings: Tezuka X Echizen, Momoshiro X Ann**

**(This chapter is followed by chapter 20 in Life After Seigaku)**

A/N: Please read this chapter first, as one of the events will come before Life After Seigaku. Also, please read the next chapter of Echizen, Our Buchou first, as ALL of the events will come before the next chapter of Life After Seigaku.

As mentioned by a few of my reviewers in my other fic, **Seigaku Kittens**, Karupin is a male. So it will be a he in this fic.

**LoyalSupporter**, O.o . Incredible…I didn't realize I had that many misleading paragraphs. I'd better reread my fic. Btw, nope, those were not the hints, so don't worry.

**Quill**, yeah. Compared to Tezuka, he really has lots more to work on. XD

I think I've spotted a few reviewers who seemed to have noticed the hints. I've actually thrown in a similar hint in one of the previous chapters (in Life After Seigaku). The key was 'The dilemma Tezuka and Ryoma would be facing in the future, in around 10 years time'. Not going to give spoilers though, so for the ones who have managed to guess it, be warned that the sequel is something related to that, and the idea is so crazy that at times, I really don't want to post up the sequel…TT

As for the ones who haven't been able to guess it, just know that the sequel is crazy. XD

**Thank you all for your reviews.**

To the story then…

**Echizen, Our Buchou**

By: Gwynhafra

Chapter 18

It was a particularly long journey for a certain dark-green haired boy. Well, at least it felt long to him, as the boy dozed quietly in the red car he was in, his head nodding in sleep.

Next to him sat a monk, who drove with his cigarette still in his mouth. Occasionally, he would remove a hand from the wheel, take a puff from the cancer stick and flick the ashes out of the window before replacing it in his mouth and setting his hand back on the wheel.

Without any warning, there was the screech of tires as the monk jammed his foot on the brakes, and the car came to an abrupt halt. This was followed on by a yelp of pain as the boy was rudely awakened once his head hit his window.

The boy threw a groggy glare at the driver, who merely smiled cheerily at him and got off the vehicle.

"We're back, seishonen. Home sweet home." The monk declared.

"Baka oyaji. Couldn't you have waked me up first before doing that…?" He got off the car, stretching slightly before taking his luggage from the boot of the car.

(A/N: Boot would be 'trunk' for Americans, in case any of you were wondering)

Once he was done, he followed his father into the house compound. He had barely entered through the gates when he found both his mother and his cousin standing there.

"Ryoma-san, okaeri." His cousin Nanako greeted.

"Tadaima…" he mumbled.

His mother came forward and gave him a hug. "You're finally home. The house really felt lonely without you. How was your trip back?"

Ryoma threw a glare over his mother shoulder, staring at his father, who was standing behind her.

"Oyaji tried to have me killed when we reached home." He stated. Surely there would be a bruise on his forehead.

"Nanjirou…" his mother turned her attention to Ryoma's baka oyaji immediately.

The samurai gave a shrug. "That was a small punishment for him sneaking back to Tokyo the last time. How long are we going to be standing here anyway? Rinko-chan, there are still some of the smaller items in the boot. Could you get them please?" As he spoke, he carried the bags he was holding into the house.

"Hai. Ryoma, I made your favourite grilled fish. You'd better set your things down, freshen up and have dinner while it's still warm."

"Usu." Ryoma said, feeling happy. He would not admit it aloud, but it was good to finally be home again. He missed his house, missed the tennis court and every plant that was within the compound of his house, and he missed his cousin, his mother…and even his baka oyaji. Yup, he was never going to admit it out loud, especially about the last part.

As they were walking back to the house, a loud meow got their attention, and Ryoma looked up to see an energetic ball of fur running towards him.

"Karupin!" This was the one he had missed the most. Instantly, he dropped the bags he was carrying and held out his arms. The Himalayan cat gave a leap and before long, it was purring happily in its long lost master's protective hold, with its bushy brown tail swishing.

Nanako chuckled at the scene. She picked up the bags Ryoma had dropped. "Let's go inside, Ryoma-san. Karupin has really missed you. Even when you were gone, he would go to your room and sleep on your bed. With you back, I'm sure he will be in high spirits again. "

XXX

Ryoma gave a happy sigh as he dried his hair off. A wonderful dinner, followed on by a refreshing bath was really the life. He never knew he could miss his mother's cooking, as well as his precious stock of bath salts this much.

He took some time to unpack his things, setting them back to their respective places. After putting the neatly compiled notes on his study desk, he returned to take the last item remaining in his bag, his prized possession.

'I wonder what Kunimitsu would say if he hears from me?' He amused himself with the thought of it as he held his boyfriend's gold medal before his face.

Right at that moment, Karupin entered his room. It stared up at him and gave a meow. Ryoma set the medal down on his desk, just next to the pile of notes Kunimitsu (and Oishi) had made for him. He was just about reach for his phone when Karupin leapt onto the desk, attracted by the glint of gold. To his horror, the cat had then begun playing with the medal.

"Karupin! That's not a toy!" He tried to snatch it away, but the Himalayan feline held its new plaything in its mouth and hopped off the table. Ryoma ended up playing a short game of tag with his cat as he tried to retrieve the medal from the ball of fur. It took him another 5 minutes of wrestling with his cat before the gold prize was back in his possession again.

"Honestly, Karupin. I'll see to it that you won't have a single bowl of tuna for a week if you put even a scratch on this." Ryoma scolded lightly.

The cat gave him a stare, or at least, gave the medal in Ryoma's hands a stare. It gave a meow, reaching out a paw for it again.

"I said no." Ryoma kept the medal in his drawer.

Karupin gave a sad meow, sitting on Ryoma's table glumly. The green haired captain walked over and picked up his cat, stroking its ears gently.

"Were you lonely when I was gone, Karupin?" He received a meow in reply.

He took Karupin's favourite catnip toy and started playing with his cat, watching on as Karupin tried to claw at the toy. After a while, he took a glance at the clock. It was almost 9.30pm. With that, he temporarily set the toy down and picked up his phone again, calling the Tezuka residence.

Tezuka's mother picked up the phone, and before long, he could hear her calling over her shoulder. "_Kunimitsu. Your friend is on the phone_."

Not too long later, his boyfriend's voice could be heard. "_Kunimitsu speaking._"

"Konbanwa." Ryoma said with a slight smile.

There was a short pause. "_Ryoma!_" The senior high captain sounded glad to hear him.

The Seigaku captain chuckled. The brunette must have gotten a surprise from his call.

"_If you're calling, I'm guessing that you're back in Tokyo_."

"Hai." Ryoma affirmed.

"_How was your journey_?" Tezuka asked over the other end.

"It was fine. I reached the airport by morning, dropped by Seigaku around noon, and had only reached home in the evening. Baka oyaji tried to have me killed again." Ryoma held the receiver with his right hand, while he tickled Karupin's belly with his left.

Tezuka gave a light laugh. As they spoke on, Ryoma played with his cat. Just when Ryoma was narrating about Momo and Kaidou fighting as usual in Seigaku, Karupin gave one extra hard bite.

"Itai!"

"_What's wrong, Ryoma_?" Immediately his boyfriend sounded concerned.

Ryoma stared at his hand. Nothing too serious. With that, he continued playing with his cat. "It's nothing. Karupin was just being very playful."

"_Is that so?_" Tezuka sounded mildly relieved.

"Oh yes. That is so." A third voice chimed in cheerily, causing Ryoma to drop the receiver in shock.

He snatched the phone up from the bed, where it had fallen onto, and snarled over his shoulder. "Oyaji!"

"Just reminding you that it's almost bedtime, seishonen. You've been on the phone for over 45 minutes already, in case you haven't noticed. You too, Tezuka-kun." His father had continued speaking through the phone in the hall downstairs.

"_Hai_." Tezuka replied respectfully. There was the sound of Ryoma's father putting down his receiver.

"That baka oyaji…" Ryoma scowled. Tezuka sighed over the other end.

"_Tomorrow, the same park, same time as usual?_" The Kanto High captain asked.

"Usu." Ryoma agreed happily.

"_Alright then. Oyasumi, Ryoma._"

"Oyasumi." Ryoma set the phone down before his father could start listening in on them again. He gave a yawn and lay back on his bed, his cat hopping onto the bed and settling next to him.

He definitely looked forward to tomorrow. With that, he pulled his blankets up, covering both himself and his cat.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Ohayou, Echizen-kun. Welcome back."

Not surprisingly, Seishun Gakuen's third most popular idol received a celebrity's welcome as he stepped into the gates of his school. Throughout his journey from the gates to his classroom, this sentence has been repeated no less than 12 times already.

"Doomo." He had already lost count of his same reply.

As he slid open the door to his classroom, his fellow classmates looked up at him.

"Echizen! You're back!" Several of them came over to greet him.

"Aa." He returned to his seat and sat down.

Katsuo and Kachiro came over to his place. "Ryoma-buchou. Here are all the notes for everything you have missed. Also, you would have a lot of catching up to do for your homework."

As they handed him a list of homework, Ryoma's face paled slightly. He doubted he'd be able to finish all these until he was 30 or something…

"Doomo. Ah. I have these notes already." Ryoma recognized some of the topics, since Tezuka had made them for him already. It was only the more recent ones which Ryoma's didn't have.

"Whoa! Sugoi! Ryoma-buchou, you're making notes and doing self-study on your own even when you're away. How hardworking." Both his regulars looked awed, while Ryoma didn't bother to correct them. A few seats away, the Chessmaster gave a rather loud snort, which he tried to cover hurriedly as a cough. Ryoma frowned. The observant, insightful player had probably figured that this was all thanks to Kunimitsu, and was most likely secretly laughing at him.

Well, even if the Chessmaster was laughing at him, Ryoma wouldn't be able to hear him from so far away. After he had regained his sight, his hearing had toned down to how it was before he was blind.

The door slid open, and the English Lessons' sensei walked in, signaling the start of class. Instantly, both Kachiro and Katsuo scurried back to their seats.

"Good morning class. Ah. Echizen-kun. Good to see you finally back with us. You're going to need a lot of catching up to do, but don't worry, if you pay attention in class, you're going to be just fine."

Ryoma blinked, looking bored. His sensei was asking for the impossible. Surely enough, just 15 minutes into the lessons, Ryoma's head was on his desk already as the dark-green haired captain was snoozing away.

His sensei gritted his teeth, crumbling the chalk he held in his fingers to bits. This was the first period of lessons and already this guy was sleeping?

"Echizen Ryoma-kun. Perhaps you'd like to come up here and translate page 56, paragraph 3 to 7 on the board here." He raised his voice, waking up the sleepyhead.

Ryoma gave a yawn, getting up from his seat and walking over to the board. Without a word, he wrote a flawless paragraph of English sentences on the board. After that, he casually gave the chalk back to the teacher.

"Done. Can I go back to my seat now?" He asked in a flat tone.

The teacher twitched. Yup, his bratty student was definitely back. Once Ryoma had returned to his seat, the teacher cleared his throat. "Now then, if you will all flip to page 58."

There was the sound of pages turning over, except at Ryoma's table, as the boy had gone right back to sleep again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

With Ryusaki-sensei and their captain back, Seigaku was well on its way to the Nationals once more, as practices resumed as usual.

Well, Seigaku might have seen better days though…

"This really is mada mada dane. Minna. We'll be running another 20 laps." Ryoma called over his shoulder.

"You've got to be kidding, buchou…" His club members wailed, while the Seigaku regulars said nothing as they ran alongside their captain.

Inui was busy timing their laps, and once all of them had finished running, he walked over to Ryoma.

"You are just around 1.5 seconds slower than usual. I suppose it has something to do with you having just recovered, but if you'd like, I can come up with a training menu for you."

"That will be good. Doomo." Ryoma said while wiping his forehead with a towel.

He then clapped his hands twice, getting their attention immediately.

"Alright. First years, you're to practice in Court D. Second years and third years, Courts B and C. Regulars would be having a quick round of selections in Court A." Ryoma announced.

Everyone exchanged looks. Selections?

"Oh, that's right. Echizen-buchou isn't a regular currently, as he would have to fight for that position again." Itsuki remembered.

"Minna. Move to your courts now." Ryoma gave the order, and everyone hurried off.

Once only the regulars remained in the courts, Ryoma went to his bag and took his racket. Once he was done, he faced them again.

"I will be playing against each of you individually. Anyone who doesn't get at least two games from me will be kicked off the regulars. Is that clear?"

"Hai, buchou!" Everyone gulped, knowing that since this was Ryoma they were facing, there was a very high chance any of them would not be able to score two games past him.

XXX

"Game and match, won by, Echizen, 6 games to 1."

Ryoma walked over to the net. "Too bad, Arai-senpai. Well, you did your best, but you're still mada mada dane."

The rest had narrowly escaped sharing Arai's fate. Kachiro and Katsuo scored 2 games each, Tsun and Itsuki scored 3, Kaidou and Takahiro scored 4 while Momoshiro managed to score an impressive 5.

"You've improved, Momo-senpai." Ryoma commented.

"Ahaha. You're not the only one who had gotten better, Echizen." The third year vice-captain grinned sheepishly. He patted Ryoma on the shoulder. "Welcome back to the regulars, captain."

"That's of course. What can Seigaku do without me?" The next moment Ryoma found himself in a headlock. "Don't get so cocky, Echizen. You can't do that na, you can't do that yo" Momoshiro snickered at Ryoma's attempts to break free.

The captain and vice-captain watched as the remaining regulars practiced amongst themselves. Outside the courts, Ryoma's fanclub, led by Tomoka, had started a chant, though Ryoma was happily ignoring them. The noise was eventually getting to him, however, and he decided to spare all their eardrums by calling it a day.

Once everyone was let off practice, Momoshiro spoke up while all of them were changing in the clubroom. "Yo, Echizen. Want to go for some burgers?"

"I've already promised to meet someone later, so no." Ryoma replied, chucking his jersey into his locker.

The regulars who were in the clubroom exchanged knowing looks. "Tezuka-buchou, no doubt. How nice, youth." Momoshiro stated.

Ryoma raised an eyebrow at that. "Aren't you going to be looking for Tachibana's little sister. I don't see what you're complaining about."

"The both of you definitely have nothing to complain about. We are the ones who should be doing all the complaining, since we're single." Tsun pointed out.

Ryoma looked at his watch. "I'll be going now. Ja."

"Have fun with your date." Itsuki waved.

No sooner had Ryoma left the room when someone spoke up.

"Date? Echizen-buchou has a date? Who? Where?"

So the regulars weren't the only ones left in the clubroom. All eyes turned to the speaker. Oh crap…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Ne, ne, Sakuno. Want to drop by my house later. I was thinking about making some banners for Ryoma-sama to celebrate his return. Kyaa! I'm sure he'd be so pleased!" Tomoka gushed happily to herself.

Sakuno gave a weak laugh. Her friend really was an obsessed fangirl at times. She silently wondered what would happen if Tomoka found out the truth about Ryoma.

No sooner had that train of thought cross her mind did they run into Horio, who was coming from the opposite direction.

"Ah! It's you two! You must listen to this! I've just heard this in the clubroom just now. Apparently Echizen has a DATE!"

Sakuno stiffened. Was Ryoma's cover blown?

"Nani?! Ryoma-sama is dating?" Not surprisingly, Tomoka promptly exploded at the news.

"He's not! Horio-kun had heard wrong." Kachiro gasped out the minute he screeched to a halt next to Horio, with Katsuo right behind him.

"That's right. Ryoma-buchou was…erm…given a box of dates. That was what Horio-kun heard." Katsuo came up with a lame lie.

Of course, Tomoka didn't believe him. "Date…I can't believe some girl is going out with Ryoma-sama, and she didn't get permission from me first. I, the president of the Ryoma-sama fanclub will not allow this. Let's go, Sakuno. We'll find out who that sneak is."

"T-Tomo-chan…" Sakuno exchanged worried looks with the sophomore pair. Ryoma was most likely on a date with Tezuka, and with the two P.A System on legs after them, this is not good at all.

XXX

"Tomo-chan. I'm sure you've misunderstood." Sakuno tried to change her mind.

Unfortunately, Horio's words were more effective. "Hmm…if Echizen really is dating, that girl must be really beautiful to move a guy like him…"

That got Tomoka to become even more zealous in finding Ryoma. She was literally combing the whole town to look for him, and Sakuno, Kachiro and Katsuo were fervently hoping that they would never bump into Ryoma.

"Aha! Over there!" Horio spotted the target first. Ryoma was leaving a restaurant, and surely enough, Tezuka was next to him.

"Are? I don't spot any girls around." Tomoka said, scanning the area with her 20/20 vision.

Kachiro gave a weak laugh. "That's why I said that Horio had heard wrong…"

"I have most certainly not heard wrong! Maybe Echizen will be meeting the girl after this?" Horio protested.

Tomoka crossed her arms. "Hmm…there is a chance. Yosh! We'll keep an eye on Ryoma-sama then. They're walking off, let's go, Sakuno!"

"Tomo-chan…" Sakuno sighed. Even without speaking, Sakuno, Kachiro and Katsuo had come up with a silent agreement. No matter what happened, they would not let these two find out about Tezuka and Echizen.

With that, the three tagged along with the two loudspeakers, and every time Tezuka or Echizen did something that might arouse suspicion, they tried their best to distract Horio and Tomoka.

When Ryoma reached up to brush something off Tezuka's collar, Katsuo suddenly burst out gabbling a whole load of Amane-like puns that caused both Horio and Tomoka to stare, so that they didn't see what was going on.

When Tezuka looked like he was about to touch Ryoma's cheek, Kachiro had suddenly began a tap dance, effectively distracting the two again.

Even Sakuno had pointed at the simplest, most normal things just to distract them, such as the traffic light turning red, or that there are clouds in the sky.

Needless to say, the three were drained by the time they had tailed Tezuka and Echizen to the tennis courts.

"I can't do this anymore…" Kachiro groaned quietly.

Katsuo nodded. "Me neither."

As for Tomoka and Horio…well…they were severely disappointed to see that apparently, Ryoma was only playing tennis.

"Man…when is that girl going to make an appearance?" Horio complained.

The next moment, Tomoka had rounded on him and was shaking him violently.

"Horio! Are you sure that you've heard about Ryoma-sama having a date?" she snarled.

"Of course! I, Horio-sama with my 3 years of tennis experience, would definitely not have heard wrong." Horio gasped out.

"Then where is the girl?" Tomoka demanded.

"I don't know!" Horio wailed in reply.

"Ne. You're all noisy…" an annoyed voice said.

Both Horio and Tomoka stopped their squabbling and looked up to stare into a pair of angry golden orbs. Apparently, their voices might have been a little too loud, and their target had finally noticed them.

"Ah…er…hello, Echizen-buchou…" Horio grinned weakly. He gulped when those eyes narrowed dangerously.

"What are you doing here?" Ryoma asked, his eyes darting from Horio, to Tomoka, to the sophomore pair and to Sakuno.

Tomoka pointed at Horio. "He mentioned that you're having a date. With a girl! Ryoma-sama! Say that's not true!" She wailed.

Ryoma pinned Horio with an 'Is-that-so' gaze. "Since when am I dating any girls?" He asked bluntly.

Horio gulped. He couldn't have made a mistake now, could he? He cowered when he noticed a livid Tomoka advancing towards him.

"Horio…how dare you trick me…Hey! Come back here!" The sophomore had taken off as fast as he could, and the fanclub president went racing after him.

"That was close." The sophomore pair breathed a sigh of relief. Mission accomplished. Their captain's secret was safe.

Ryoma shouldered his racket. "I've lost my mood to play. Shall we go somewhere else, buchou?"

"Aa." Tezuka agreed.

Before the two left, however, Ryoma turned to the sophomore pair.

"If you two see Horio later, pass the word that he's running 50 laps tomorrow. Ja."

Sakuno gave a sad smile as the two captains walked off. It was just an unrequited crush on her part, but she was glad that Ryoma was happy.

She threw a glance at her watch. Well, she had better drop by her relative's shop now. It was getting late already.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was just an idea that had suddenly popped into Momoshiro's head. A sudden decision made by an extremely bored mind.

By order of the fukubuchou, all the Seigaku regulars were asked to meet up for a one-day outing for a very much belated 'welcome back buchou' celebration, even though Ryoma had been back for over a month already.

Momoshiro had miraculously managed to persuade the main star to join them; so on a very fine Sunday, Ryoma found himself leaving his house at 8 am. Momoshiro was already waiting for him outside the gates, as promised.

"Let's go, Echizen. I'm sure the others are already waiting for us." He grinned.

Ryoma yawned. He usually didn't wake this early on a weekend. "Why do you need to celebrate my return anyway?"

"We haven't really hung out since you've started dating. You can't do that na, you can't do that yo." Momoshiro stated.

Ryoma rolled his eyes. "Aren't you doing the same, Momo-senpai?"

Momoshiro grinned and clapped a hand on Ryoma's shoulder. "You have a point. That's why; today we'll all be hanging out for half a day. Let today be Seigaku Regulars' Day."

"That name sounds lame…" Ryoma mumbled.

Momoshiro ignored that comment. He marched Ryoma off to meet the others. Apparently they really were the last to arrive, and the other six were already in front of the café.

"Buchou, fukubuchou. You're slow." Itsuki called out.

"Momo-senpai. You don't have to hold onto my shoulder like that. I can walk by my own." Ryoma frowned.

Momoshiro shook his head slightly. "If I release my hold, you might run off. So I would have to make sure you stay put, wouldn't I?"

"Don't worry. I won't run off." Ryoma turned around and gave Momoshiro an arrogant smirk. "You're paying for my burgers after all."

Momoshiro's jaw dropped. This Seigaku captain really knew how to take advantage of other people's kindness. Now why did he plan this outing again…?

XXX

After breakfast, they headed off to the main venue of their outing.

"What am I doing back here again…?" Ryoma muttered to himself as all of them stood before the bowling alley.

Momoshiro grinned. "It's nice to take some time off tennis. I've decided for us to play some bowling this round, as I have vouchers which entitle us to two free games."

"Hmm. That's useful." Ryoma mumbled.

Momoshiro held up some straws. "Now then, we'll get into our teams. Remember we'll have a punishment for the losers."

Everyone took a step back at that. It wasn't Inui Juice now, was it?

"Ah, don't worry. We'll just be coming up with a punishment for the losing team. Now then, take a straw."

All of them obeyed. "I hope I'm in the same team as Minori. Or Haruka-chan!" Itsuki chirped.

"I hope I'm not in the same team as you." Takahiro muttered, keeping a distance from this crazy 'oni-chan'.

The results of the draw…

Tsun-Echizen

Momoshiro-Kaidou

Itsuki-Kachiro

Takahiro-Katsuo

"Why the hell am I paired up with you, mamushi?" Momoshiro snarled.

"I'm not happy either! Fsshhh!" Kaidou retorted.

"You're the one who made us draw lots, Momo-senpai. Let's just start the game already." Ryoma stated.

"I've not played bowling before." Takahiro said quietly, staring at the ball in his hands and looking mildly confused.

"You hold it like this, Takahiro-kun, and this is how you throw it." Katsuo told him, doing a demonstration for the Chessmaster. The ball knocked down all the pins, scoring him a strike.

"I've never played bowling before either." Tsun muttered. Ryoma gave him a smirk. "Mada mada dane, senpai." Ryoma threw the ball, knocking 8 pins down.

He pointed at the remaining pins. "That should be easy for you. Score a spare."

"What's a spare?" Tsun asked. He really, really had no experience with bowling at all.

Ryoma rolled his eyes. "Just throw the ball and hit all the pins down."

"But…you've already hit the other pins down, so how should I hit _all_ the pins down?" Tsun was getting confused.

"Just throw the ball!" Ryoma instructed/commanded.

Tsun did so, using both hands, and the ball immediately went into the gutter.

Ryoma sighed. Well. At least his team had him, so they wouldn't end up last. Right? With that, the smirking captain turned to see how the others are doing, and his jaw dropped.

In the lane next to theirs, Momoshiro and Kaidou were having some kind of personal competition, with them trying to outdo each other's scores.

"I'm not losing to you, baka mamushi!"

"Do you want to fight?" Kaidou mowed down the pins so brutally; it was as if Momoshiro's face was drawn onto each pin.

In the lane next to theirs, Itsuki was doing okay, looking as if he had played bowling before. Kachiro too looked as if he had been practicing. Ryoma had known that the sophomore pair had some hidden talent for bowling, but he didn't realize Kachiro could score that many strikes once he actually trained.

"Nice one, Kachiro-kun. Yosh! Keep it up; we'll win this for sure." Itsuki was already using his morale boost technique.

In the last lane, Katsuo too was scoring either spares or strikes, as for the Chessmaster, well…it was hard to believe he was a beginner, for the guy picked up the game extremely fast.

"Oh? It hit down all the pins again." Takahiro stated, his expression still blank even though he had just scored a strike.

"Sugoi, Takahiro-kun. This must be what they call Beginner's luck!" Katsuo cheered for him.

Ryoma vaguely wished that such luck could rub off on his teammate, whose shots were still happily aiming for the gutter.

"Gomen, Echizen-buchou." Tsun apologized as he had accidentally thrown the ball backwards, and it narrowly missed Echizen's foot.

"Aim for the pins…" Ryoma growled.

Tsun obeyed. He swung with all his might, and the ball fell to the ground with a very loud 'thunk' before rolling slowly in the direction of the pins. At long last, he managed to hit one down.

"You still have lots more to work on." Ryoma knocked down the remaining pins, scoring a spare.

Needless to say, Momoshiro and Kaidou were the first to finish their game, as they had been in such a silent but furious competition. Now, both of them sat with their backs facing each other, with Kaidou directing his attention at Itsuki-Kachiro and Takahiro-Katsuo's games, while Momoshiro was rooting for Ryoma and Tsun.

"Good luck, Echizen. Looks like you might be the last group." Momoshiro grinned.

Ryoma gave a soft 'ceh' and threw the ball, knocking 7 pins down. Tsun then stepped up to cover for him.

The taller half of the Psycho Pair propelled his arm before swinging the ball, which _flew_ backwards like a cannonball. "Watch out, mamushi!" Momoshiro threw himself against Kaidou, knocking him aside. Both third years then fell gracelessly to the floor.

Needless to say, that sparked another war between them.

"What was that for, baka Momoshiro!" Kaidou certainly did not like kissing the ground.

"Is that how you thank the one who saved you? I should have just allowed you to crack your skull open, baka Mamushi!" Momoshiro snarled.

"Enough, both of you. Carry on with this and it's 20 laps around the bowling centre." Ryoma ordered. He didn't want his regulars to attract this kind of attention.

The both of them threw each other another stare before plopping down on their seats. Momoshiro then turned to Tsun.

"Tsun. You're not supposed to _throw_ the ball, unless you're intending to kill someone. You're supposed to roll it. That's the way to play bowling." The vice-captain told him.

Tsun looked relieved. Finally, someone actually gave him instructions on how to play this. He thought he was done for when he partnered Seigaku's brattiest, most uncooperative sophomore. His performance improved after that, as he managed to at least hit pins down instead of damaging the ground.

Takahiro and Katsuo's team emerged second place, after Momo and Kaidou's scores. Now all four regulars watched the remaining two teams battle to avoid last place.

Itsuki managed to score a spare, ending his game. "I don't think we did too bad. Yosh! Don't worry, Kachiro-kun. We won't be at last place." The third year chirped optimistically.

Ryoma had already ended his turn, and took the chance to glance at the scores. Their team was in last place. It was all up to Tsun now. He would have to score a strike in order to beat Itsuki and Kachiro's team by at least two points.

"Tsun-senpai. Score a strike or you're running 30 laps tomorrow. Oh. And you'll also be Inui-senpai's guinea pig for a whole day" Ryoma called out evilly.

Tsun gulped. He had not scored a spare throughout the whole game so far, let alone a strike. Only a miracle can save him from the Seigaku captain's wrath if he failed to knock all the pins down.

He concentrated on the pins. His fate all came down to this one shot now. He closed his eyes and threw the ball.

There was the sound of all the pins falling. He had scored a strike!

"Yes!" Tsun pumped a fist into the air.

Now then, usually when one scored a strike, his partner should be cheering, right? The actual scenario looked a little different though.

Ryoma had given a groan and buried his face in his hand, looking as if he wanted nothing more than to dig a hole on the spot and hop in. Momoshiro had rolled off his seat and was laughing his head off, while Kaidou was trying to stifle a chuckle, and was failing. The sophomore pair looked awed. "Sugoi, Tsun-senpai…" "What an unbelievable shot…" Takahiro was expressionless, while Itsuki was grinning.

Tsun looked at the strike he made. Apparently, who knew how he had thrown the ball, but it had hit down all the pins…in the next lane.

"Eh?" Tsun gulped again. They had lost.

"Ahahaha! You've lost, Echizen." Momoshiro cheered.

Ryoma folded his arms. "Ceh. I wouldn't have lost if it wasn't because of Tsun-senpai."

"You did not instruct him on how to play bowling, so the fault doesn't lie with him alone. You can't put all the blame on your senpai na, you can't yo."

"Punishment time, Minori." Itsuki patted his best friend on the shoulder, a broad grin on his face.

"What punishment are they getting?" Kachiro asked, wisely avoiding Ryoma's eyes.

All of them thought about it for a while. Momoshiro had positioned himself right behind Ryoma, preventing the boy from getting any chances of escaping.

"Maybe they should both hold onto a bowling ball for one hour?" Takahiro suggested. Who would have known that the usually quiet Chessmaster could be so sadistic once he opened his mouth?

"Or maybe they should stand outside the centre for some time?" Katsuo added.

Momoshiro shook his head. "Nah. Too time consuming, both your suggestions."

"Spank them?" Itsuki joked.

"We're not doing Spartan training, Itsuki." Momoshiro snorted at the idea.

"Make them sing a song?" Kaidou stated quietly.

Momoshiro rounded on the viper. "What type of punishment is that? Do you think we're still in elementary school, baka mamushi?"

"Fsshh!!!"

Before a fight could break out, however, Itsuki clapped his hands together.

"That's actually a wonderful idea! Won't it be nice to hear them sing? Ne, Minori?" He teased his best friend.

Katsuo and Kachiro both nodded in agreement, Takahiro gave a shrug, while Kaidou gave a hiss, looking pleased that everyone (except the two victims) were agreeing to his suggestion.

Momoshiro gave a cough, not liking the thought of having to go along with his rival's idea. Still, since everyone was voting for it. "Fine then. Echizen, Tsun, you're both going to sing a song. Solo, of course."

"Yadda. This is stupid. I'm going home." Already, Ryoma was regretting the decision to come to this pointless outing. He had just taken a step when Momoshiro whipped out a flask of orange-coloured liquid from his bag.

Ryoma involuntarily took a step back, eyeing the flask warily. "What is that?" he demanded.

A slow smile spread on Momoshiro's face, and if he had put on glasses, he would greatly resemble a certain someone.

"Inui's Special Wheatgrass Juice. He has kindly lent me this wonderful drink."

Ryoma paled. Wheatgrass juice was supposed to be green. This…thing was freaking orange. Bright orange!

"I-I thought that you didn't have any Inui Juice…" Ryoma was already putting a good distance between himself and Momoshiro.

Goodness. The grin on Momoshiro's face had turned so evil, he really didn't need glasses to look like that other person now.

"Are? I never said anything of that sort. You were just making your own assumptions. Now then, you'd better start preparing to sing a song, or would you prefer this?" He jiggled the flask slightly.

Ryoma frowned. He really didn't have a choice now, did he?

"Tsun-senpai. You go first." Ryoma ordered.

"Why me?" Tsun protested. He really didn't like singing.

He received a cocky smirk in reply. "Because I'm the captain and I say so."

Tsun winced. Leave it to Ryoma to use authority. Well, he'll just get on with this then. Tsun took in a deep breath, and…

A cacophony of wolf howls began…

Followed on by the trumpeting of elephants…

And unearthly sirens…

With the sound of strangled chickens to top off everything.

"Enough! Enough! Tsun!" Momoshiro was the first to speak. The others had been stunned to silence. The sophomore pair looked close to fainting, while the usually blank-faced Chessmaster had his jaw hanging open.

"So Tsun's not just weak at bowling. Fsshh…" Kaidou said weakly.

Tsun looked mildly surprised. "I've only sang a verse."

He looked like he was about to start singing again, and once more, Momoshiro brandished the flask. "Either stop singing or you'll drink this. Your punishment is done."

They next turned all their attention to Echizen. "I can't sing either, so it's best if you don't make me. Let's just call it a day and go home…" He was silenced by the sight of the deadly juice before his face.

"As for you, Echizen. You either start singing or you'll drink this." Really. How many other tennis captains get blackmailed by their own vice-captains anyway? Ryoma might have just created a new record.

"Whatever then." He'll just be done with it and go home. He too gathered his breath and…

"Baa…baa…black sheep, have you any wool…"

"Echizen!" Momoshiro roared.

Ryoma merely raised an eyebrow. "What? You asked me to sing a song, and isn't that a song?"

"Fine. We'll assign you a song then. Eto…do you know Dream Believer? You'll be singing that."

"I don't know the lyrics." Ryoma lied lamely. Of course, Momoshiro and the others didn't buy it.

"I know the lyrics." Ryoma decided at that moment that the Chessmaster really was his rival now. Takahiro took some time to put the lyrics into writing before handing the piece of paper to Momoshiro, who in turn handed it to Echizen.

"How do I read this horrible handwriting?" Ryoma muttered.

Seeing the flask coming ever closer to him, he finally cooperated and started singing.

He kept his attention on the piece of paper, looking at it but not really reading it. He did know the lyrics after all. Once he was done, he looked up to find his regulars staring at him.

"What?" He asked. They certainly didn't have this expression when Tsun was singing.

"Echizen…you're really…" Momoshiro was still mildly stunned.

Echizen glanced from face to face. Was it really that bad?

The next moment, he was nearly bowled over by a familiar hug.

"Ochibi! You could actually sing! Who would have known nya!"

"You're choking me, Kikumaru-senpai." Ryoma gasped out. Another second passed, and he froze. Wait a minute. If Kikumaru was here, then Oishi was here, and most likely Fuji would be too. In that case…

He slowly turned around. Surely enough, all the Kanto High regulars (minus the third years and Asakawa) were there, with Inui in the lead. He could feel Tezuka's gaze on him and promptly turned red. Kunimitsu caught him singing…Ryoma was so going to kill all his regulars for this.

"Saa…Echizen. Your face is pretty red. You're not having a fever now, are you?" Fuji chuckled.

Kikumaru bounced back to Oishi. "Ochibi really surprised us nya. Don't you think he sang well?"

"He really did. What do you think, Tezuka?"

"Aa." No one could see what Tezuka thought about it, for he still remained his usual poker face.

Momoshiro decided to call it a day for their outing. There was no way Echizen would still have to mood to join them now that Tezuka was here.

"Alright. That's all for today, minna. Practice would be as usual tomorrow. As for you, Echizen. Feel free to join senpai-tachi." Momoshiro gave him a slight shove, causing Ryoma to stumble slightly, and Tezuka caught him. Ryoma wondered if his cheeks would be permanently red after this.

It really was going to be a long day after all…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Seishonen. You've got mail."

Ryoma blearily opened his eyes. He was feeling extremely tired, his whole body protesting against moving at all. Momoshiro was to be blamed for the whole day trip. Inwardly, he promised to make Momoshiro run laps first thing tomorrow.

He gave a slight grumble and got to his feet, dragging his sleepy form to the door. When he opened it, he found his baka oyaji standing there, with one hand holding a cigarette, and the other holding a letter.

"You've got a love letter, Ryoma. I thought that you're dating your former captain only, but it looks like you've decided to date someone else as well. You've got good tastes, Ryoma. So you're really my son after all…" Before his baka oyaji could say anymore, Ryoma had already snatched the letter from his father's fingers and slammed the door in his face.

"How uncute, youths nowadays. Getting so serious over a little joke…" His baka oyaji could be heard saying on his way down the stairs.

Ryoma studied the letter. It was gold-coloured, with a silver border at the sides. It was even mildly scented. For a while Ryoma stared at this 'love letter' warily. The sender must be really rich, or really bored to send him such a fanciful piece of paper.

Oh well. He wasn't one to appreciate the beauty of envelopes anyway. He ripped it open carelessly and tossed the envelope into his wastepaper basket. A lot of yen must have gone down the trash with that casual action. Ryoma then turned his attention to the card he held in his hand. No wonder his baka oyaji had mistaken it as a love letter. It really did look like one.

Karupin hopped onto his lap, and Ryoma stroked the cat's fur absent mindedly, while his still sleepy eyes stared at the card for a whole 10 minutes without actually reading it.

When he finally got down to reading the contents, only one word escaped his lips.

"Haa?"

To be continued…

A/N: I just had to stop here now, don't I? I'm so evil…XD

Just a few notes. Dream Believer is actually the last opening theme of the Prince of Tennis anime, and my favourite POT song. My second fav is the first opening theme of the OVA- 'Flower', but let's not go there, or I'll be rambling on forever.

I have decided to not put in the lyrics. My chapter is already long enough as it is. If any of you are interested, I believe the lyrics can be found in anyone feels that a singing Echizen is OOC, please refer to chapter 344 of the manga. Ryoma really was singing some kind of a song in there.

Once again, for the next chapter, please read Echizen, Our Buchou first before reading Life After Seigaku. All the events will come after EOB for the next chappie.

**Please Read and Review. No Flames Please.**

-Gwyn


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. The wonderful Konomi sensei does though.**

**Warning: May contain spoilers for the latest manga chapters. Shonen-ai fic. Very long chapter.**

**Pairings: Tezuka X Echizen, Momoshiro X Ann**

A/N: Please note that all the events that happen in this chapter would come before all the events in chapter 21 of **Life After Seigaku**. It is highly suggested that you read this fic before reading the other one.

**Loyal Supporter**, yeah. Tezuka looks like he is struggling in the match against Sanada. You should check out chapter 349. It looks like there is hope for him after all. I do hope Atobe would manage to fetch Ryoma in time. It wouldn't do for Ryoma to miss Tezuka's match now, would it?

**Quill**, lol. If Tsun produced an album, might you buy it? Ehehe. Yeah. Maybe Tezuka should sing Dream Believer instead.

**Ice Silverwind**, More humour? I'll try my best. My greatest worry for these two stories is if it somehow ended up as pure crack. -.-

To the story then…

**Echizen, Our Buchou**

By: Gwynhafra

Chapter 19

The day started out as usual for the Seigaku regulars. Once again, vice-captain Momoshiro led the warm-up exercises, the captain observed the team's performance, Inui started scribbling notes, and Ryusaki-sensei kept watch over the whole team.

When everyone was done, the members assembled before Ryusaki-sensei, the captain, vice-captain and Inui. As was usual, the regulars stood in a single file before everyone else.

"Everyone in line? Good. Your captain will now give his speech. Echizen?" Ryusaki nodded to him.

Ryoma adjusted his cap slightly, so that his golden gaze could be fixed on everyone in the courts without any restrictions. "Minna, we will not be having our usual practices today."

Not surprisingly, the members immediately began murmuring amongst themselves, all shocked by the news. Momoshiro immediately tried to get them to quiet down. "Settle down, settle down, all of you. Echizen-buchou hasn't finished yet."

Ryoma spoke up again. "The baka Monkey King has decided out of the blue that he will be inviting members of this club to go to his mansion for training, so we will need to send some victims there."

Blank faces greeted that statement, all of them were unsure of how to interpret Ryoma's speech. Some of the members were thinking along the lines of 'Monkey King? Who?', while the other members were wondering about what Ryoma meant by 'victims'.

Inui coughed, getting everyone's attention. "I think it's better if I explain this. Kanto High's vice-captain, Atobe Keigo has decided to hold a training camp at one of his mansions, and he has generously allowed members of Seigaku to participate. However, he has limited the places to only five, so we will be holding a special training today to choose candidates to participate in the camp."

An excited buzz broke out amongst the regulars. Inui decided to continue on. "Rest assured that places are not limited to the regulars only. Non-regulars too will be doing the special training, and whoever wins would be allowed to participate."

It seemed that the club members were not so enthusiastic about the news anyway. It wasn't as if they had a high chance of winning against the regulars in a tennis match.

"Oh, by the way, there will not be a single tennis match today." Inui added.

Finally, the non-regulars cheered as well. Inui allowed them a short round of celebrating before continuing with his speech.

"You will have to complete four tasks altogether in this activity. Only after you've completed each task will you be allowed to proceed on to the next one. Remember, there are only five places, so the competition would be very high amongst all of you. You must all do your best in order to win…"

Ryoma gave a light cough. "Actually, Inui-senpai, there are only four spots left. One is already taken."

Inui paused. He definitely didn't have this information in his data. "One spot is taken? By whom?"

At that, a smirk spread on the Seigaku captain's face. "You're looking at him." He declared.

"Echizen, don't think that you'll win a spot that easily. You can't be that arrogant na, you can't yo." Momoshiro retorted instantly. His statement was backed by a hiss from his bandanna-wearing rival.

Ryoma fished out a card from his pocket, and all eyes were on the very fanciful, elaborate piece of paper.

"I don't need to win a spot. A few days ago, The Monkey King himself has already sent me a personal invitation to attend the camp."

"EH???" Momoshiro exclaimed. Inui had started scribbling in his book again with a murmur of "Ii data."

"That's unfair! Why is he giving you special treatment?" Momoshiro asked.

"There's a 99 percent chance that Tezuka will get jealous if he finds out about this, you know." Inui muttered softly, so that only Echizen could hear him.

Ryoma scowled at that. "He's only returning the favour because my baka…I mean, a crazy monk who is known to my family is going to be there as a coach."

Inui understood immediately. "I see. That does make sense." He then turned to all the members. "It's a pity, but it's as the captain has said. There will only be four places left for the camp, so the competition is even tougher now."

"It's alright, it's alright." Itsuki chirped enthusiastically.

Inui's glasses glinted. "Let us begin then…"

XXX

Now then, usually it would be very difficult to fish four candidates out of Seigaku's over 100 club members, right?

With Inui and Echizen doing the planning for the games, apparently it might not be so hard after all.

Task One

"Listen up. The first task is meant to test your speed and your stamina. This will be known as the Amazingly Tiring Race. You're all to run 50 laps, and the time limit is 45 minutes. Only those who have managed to finish within this time may proceed to the next task."

Stunned silence greeted that statement. Less than a minute a round? They really would have to be sprinting for most of the race.

"Ah. By the way. Echizen has kindly allowed me to bestow these wonderful gifts to the losers who did not manage to pass this round." He held up a jug of…was that scales and fins…?

"Inui's Special Piranha Juice." He declared so proudly, it was as if he were introducing to them his firstborn son instead.

Everyone paled. When Inui ever got this happy, that thing in his hands would definitely taste worse than old sneakers.

"Ryoma-buchou is so evil. He's allowing Inui to give us that drink just because he's not going to be participating in the tasks."

Ryusaki fired the gun, and immediately all of the members began sprinting like their lives depended on it.

For someone like Kaidou, who made it a point to train himself everyday, this task was just a breeze. To his surprise, two persons actually overtook him.

"I'm not drinking that." The sophomore pair were likely to be distant relatives of the Speed Demon Kamio, or even Asakawa. The both of them had vanished in a distance, leaving all the other members behind.

"Man. Under stress, those two really become completely different people…" Momoshiro groaned. As they passed the 30th lap, already most members were slowing down, as they were finding it difficult to do a full sprint all the way. By the 48th lap, less than half of the Seigaku members were running now.

"Don't block my way, mamushi!"

"Fssshhh!" If that wasn't bad enough, the two third-years had started fighting, and the ones behind were finding it difficult to overtake them without getting hit. Once more, they passed Ryusaki, Inui and Echizen. The former two were standing, with Inui being timekeeper, while Ryoma sat casually on a chair, sipping contently on Ponta.

"Ganbatte." He waved lazily as Momoshiro and the others passed him.

"How nice, he gets a place there without needing to go through this torture." Tsun sighed.

Itsuki grinned at him. "It doesn't matter, Minori. We'll get back at buchou someday."

Finally, 50 laps!

The regulars gave a relieved cheer as they and the non-regulars came to a halt. The sophomore pair had been the fastest to finish all the laps, though they were now lying on the ground, half dead.

"Omedetou. You've passed task one." Ryoma said boredly, ignoring the looks of murder his fellow regulars had thrown at him.

"You're so evil, Echizen." Momoshiro muttered once he had managed to catch his breath.

Ryoma raised an eyebrow. "I'm only returning the favour for the bowling trip last time, Momo-senpai." He was definitely the type to hold a grudge.

Inui stared at the stopwatch he held in his hands. After some time, the data master walked over and stood directly in everyone's path.

"Time." He declared. Only over 40 people had managed to pass the first task. The rest stared up at him in fear. Inui's glasses glinted.

"It is now time for the prize-giving ceremony." He told them.

10 minutes later, the courts were filled with the dying screams of unfortunate Seigaku club members. The data master turned around and faced the survivors, who shivered and clung on to each other.

"Now then, it's time for task two."

XXX

Task Two

"Welcome to the second task. For Task two, we will be testing your strength and your willpower.

"W-where on earth are we?" Kachiro exclaimed.

For what greeted their eyes were a lot, a lot of Monkey Bars. A whole park full of them, to be more precise. This really was the perfect playground for apes.

"This is the venue for the next task, built specially by Atobe after we had made a request to him. Each of you are to cling on to a bar and hoist yourself up like this." Inui demonstrated, looking as if he was doing chin-ups.

"The last 20 people who remain hanging onto the bars will proceed to the next task. Remember, your feet must not touch the ground, and you will remain clinging on to the bars until I tell you to stop."

"That's easy." Momoshiro declared. For the Seigaku regulars, this should be a piece of cake.

The next moment, the vice-captain found Ryoma brandishing a pair of power wrists at him.

"Y-you can't be serious, Echizen." Momoshiro gulped.

The bratty captain merely gave him a smirk. "All Regulars will be wearing a set of power wrists and power ankles for this task. It won't be necessary for the non-regulars though." He instructed.

Kachiro and Katsuo looked ready to faint at that announcement. All regulars strapped on the weights and held on to the bars, as did the non-regulars.

"Alright. Remember that a very special prize awaits anyone who fails to qualify for this round. When I give the whistle, none of your feet must touch the ground. Ready?"

The whistle sounded, and everyone began the task of clinging on to the bars.

Minutes ticked by, and while Inui had kept watch over all the contestants, Ryoma had found the task boring and had walked off to hit some shots against the walls first. The contestants could hear every thud of the tennis ball hitting the wall clearly, and all of them longed to compete with tennis instead of their current task.

"I'm not losing to you." Momoshiro directed this challenge at Kaidou.

"Fsshhh…You'll be the first to drop. Baka Momoshiro." Kaidou accepted the challenge.

The both of them had started a silent glaring competition to add on to their current monkey bar competition.

Ryoma returned to them after an hour had passed, by which time, a number of people had already failed the task by letting go of the bars, or had been caught by Inui because their feet had touched the ground.

Ryoma stared boredly at the remaining ones.

"Ne. Aren't all of you tired? Maybe you'd like to take a rest? These chairs are really comfortable." He teased, relaxing back against his seat.

Katsuo and Kachiro were hard pressed not to give in to the temptation of letting go. "Ryoma-buchou is so mean." They wailed.

Another half an hour passed, with the casualty rate rising gradually. Both Ryoma and Inui made a quick headcount. There were less than 30 people left now. Just a little bit more and they could be done with this task.

Ryoma had suddenly whipped out his bento set. "Minna. It's tea time now. Any of you interested in joining me for a snack?" He poured himself a glass of Ponta, deliberately making sure that his teammates, who were all very thirsty by now, could see the drink.

Tsun swallowed as his gaze was fixed on the very delicious looking juice. "Don't mind, Minori. Just a little while longer and I'm sure that this task is over. For now, try counting to 100." It was a good thing his doubles partner spoke up at that moment and managed to divert his attention from the drink.

Tsun gave his best friend a smile. "Arigatou, Keita."

Echizen's tactics seemed to have worked on most of the others, as their resolves crumbled, causing them to accidentally loosen their grips. Many were falling to the ground like dead flies, and after Inui made another headcount, he finally blew the whistle.

"Alright. The task is over." He announced, and everyone gave a relieved cheer as they released their hold on the bars before making a beeline to the cups of water placed on the table.

"That was really torture. My hands are too tired to even hold the cup properly." Kachiro stated as he watched his shaking hands.

"Aa. I hope the next task wouldn't be worse than this." Katsuo agreed, bringing his cup to his lips with much difficulty.

The ones who had passed the task now watched on in pity as their fellow comrades fell to Inui's Weed Waffles. Regulars and non-regulars alike winced at they watched the victims writhe on the ground, with their mouths foaming.

While everyone was now taking their time to relax, Ryoma was watching two fools who were still competing.

"Ne. Are you both ever going to get off those bars?" He asked in a rather annoyed tone, with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I can't lose na, I can't lose yo." was the reply he received.

This was followed on by a weak hiss…

XXX

Task Three

For this task, they had returned to the tennis courts. The 20 people who had made it so far were now seated on the ground. Inui stood before all of them to give a simple briefing.

"Task three will commence in a while. This task will test your intelligence. All of you will be given 50 questions- 20 written questions, 30 oral questions. For the first round, you will all be doing the written ones first, and the top 15 who had scored the highest points will qualify for the oral questions. I think it's best if we don't waste another second. You have precisely 20 minutes to do these." He handed out the question papers to the members.

At Inui's signal, all of them began the task in silence. They were all questions based on facts, namely maths, science, geography and history. Inui had taken their years into account, as all the questions differed according to their years. Amongst the first years, Katsuo and Kachiro were fervently writing onto the piece of paper. They were feeling rather threatened by their fellow classmate, who was answering the questions with ease. In a matter of moments, the Chessmaster had set his pen down and had handed his answers over to Inui.

"Just as my data has calculated. In a test of intelligence, you would be doing quite well. You've passed to the next round."

The data master had allocated an amount of time for the written paper, and he blew the whistle when the time was up. He took a short time to look through the answers before calling the names of the best 15.

"Alright. We will now begin the oral test. The best ten will qualify for the last task. Once the question is asked, feel free to yell out the answer." Inui told them.

Momoshiro raised a hand at that, and Inui nodded at him, giving him permission to speak up.

"Anou…Inui-senpai. Wouldn't it be better if we raised our hands before answering? Otherwise, it will be difficult for you to take the scores." He suggested.

Inui adjusted his glasses. "Don't worry. After years of collecting data, I've long learnt to pick out answers from a crowd. Go ahead and yell out the answers. I will be able to give the scores anyway."

Katsuo and Kachiro threw Takahiro a mildly envious glance.

"How nice…Takahiro-kun definitely wouldn't have any trouble with the questions."

Well, if the questions were based on facts, like the ones in the paper, Takahiro would be able to answer them perfectly. Apparently, however, the oral questions were based on _crack_.

"Now then, listen up carefully. You will all have only one chance each to answer for every question. Once you've given the wrong answer, you will forfeit your turn until the next question is given. Shall we begin?" Inui asked.

Everyone nodded, all bracing themselves to yell out the answer. Inui nodded to Echizen, who was the one holding the sheet of questions.

"First one…what is Inui-senpai's bloodtype?"

_Eh?_

Everyone hadn't expected those kinds of questions, and for a while they stared at each other, unsure of whether the captain was making a joke. However, it wasn't long before all sorts of answers were being yelled.

"A" "B" "AB" "O"

Inui scribbled rapidly on a notepad, with his eyes darting from face to face with godlike speed. Already, many were starting to believe that Inui really could take down all the scores even though so many people were yelling at the same time.

"The answer was AB." Inui stated calmly.

As the task went on, the one who seemed to be at a severe disadvantage was the academically intelligent Chessmaster, who could barely answer any of the questions given. He couldn't really be blamed though, as he had only been in the tennis club since this year, and really couldn't have known the seniors well enough to answer the questions about them. Granted, he was observant, but he wasn't as nosy as some of the members, and definitely didn't ask his seniors about their personal details.

"What is Fuji-senpai's favourite hobby?" Ryoma asked.

"Collecting cacti!" "Taking pictures!" Most of the answers were these two.

"Torturing people?" Takahiro's was the only different answer, and no sooner had the words escaped his lips when he found everyone staring at him. "What?"

He really didn't know this 'Fuji' person long enough to know his hobbies, and based on his observations of the brown-haired senior, that person had the aura of a sadist rolling off him, so wouldn't this answer be the most accurate?

Everyone began to snicker. Ryoma chuckled openly, while Inui gave a cough.

"No. He doesn't torture people. He might do so just for the fun of it, but he would never intentionally hurt others." Inui told the Chessmaster.

From then onwards, poor Takahiro could barely score any points, and the one or two he did manage to strike were out of sheer luck.

"What is Kikumaru-senpai's sneakers' brand?"

'_Heavens…as if I would know that'_, Takahiro thought weakly.

"Where would Ryusaki-sensei usually go on Sundays?"

'_What am I, a stalker?'_ Takahiro was beginning to wonder if there was one question that he could actually answer.

"What is our headmaster's favourite drink?"

'_Goodness. Someone please shoot me now…'_

"Where is Atobe's Mansion 10 located?"

'……'

"What is my cat's…"

"Karupin!" Momoshiro and Kaidou yelled out the answer at the same time.

"…breed?" Ryoma finished the question.

"Himalayan." The Chessmaster was amongst those who were able to answer this. Hurray…that would be about 3 questions that he managed to get correct now. Out of 30…

Inui glanced down at the scores briefly now that the Q & A session was up. He threw a brief glance in Takahiro's direction, and the sophomore knew that his scores must really be disastrous.

Inui seemed to be pondering something a while. "Minna. The 50 questions are up. However, I would like to mention that there will be one bonus question, and this one would carry 50 points, so anyone who gets it correct would be guaranteed to the next round. Now listen up to the 51st question."

"There is a bonus question?" Ryoma asked. Inui definitely didn't mention this to him when they came up with this task.

Inui's glasses glinted.

"The 51st question. What characteristics would the former Seigaku captain Tezuka look for in a date?"

The non-regulars gaped stupidly at that. Tezuka? Date? Somehow, they could not string these two words in a same sentence, and even the effort of trying to imagine this was causing their heads to hurt.

The regulars, however, had identical grins on their faces. Simultaneously, they answered:

"Black-green hair, golden-hazel eyes, very good at tennis, very stubborn, very arrogant, very bratty."

"Yes, yes. The brattier the person is the better." Momoshiro added evilly.

Kaidou was snickering quietly at that.

"It's best if the person is as stubborn as Tezuka-buchou is too." Itsuki added cheerfully.

"Well answered. 50 points for all of you." Inui grinned. Next to him, Ryoma looked like he was itching to throw his racket, just that he couldn't decide whether to throw it at Inui or Momo.

"How would all the regulars know that answer…also…that characteristic sounds rather familiar…" The non-regulars were whispering amongst themselves. None of them knew that the "answer" was standing near them at the moment.

XXX

Task Four

"Alright. We now have the best 10. The final task will commence shortly. This will be a test of endurance. Please wait a while as the materials needed for the task are not ready yet."

Everyone exchanged looks at that. The task was not ready? They came up with the conclusion that most likely this task would be a hurdle challenge, since this is a task of endurance, and most likely the site was still under construction.

That thought flew out of their heads, however, when a huge explosion sounded from the Chemistry lab.

Inui rubbed his hands in glee. "Oh good! The materials should be ready now. Wait here." He went off to retrieve the 'materials'.

Inui returned holding a huge barrel. Everyone's eyes widened when they noticed that Inui had to wear mittens when he held the barrel. Also, a huge cloud of smoke emitted from the whole container, which had Inui's Kanji surname pasted on the outside of the barrel.

"This will be your last task. Inui's Special Crazy Cocktail Deluxe."

Already, the audience took cover in all possible corners, as if afraid that Inui would suddenly grab a random 'volunteer' to do a demonstration of how the task was done.

Momoshiro pointed a shaking finger at the barrel of 'toxic'. He was pretty sure it was toxic anyway. "H-how would that be able to test our endurance? Are you trying to poison us, Inui-senpai?"

Inui raised his eyebrows slightly. "That is a very terrible thing to say, vice-captain Momoshiro. I certainly don't intend to poison you. Besides, captain Echizen has agreed with me that this should be tested on all of you. It might improve all your performances."

Kaidou twitched at that. "Test…? That thing there is still in the experimental stage?"

"It is not a thing, Kaidou. It's Inui's Special Crazy Cocktail Deluxe." Inui corrected almost immediately.

Momoshiro tried yet again to worm his way out of this. "Anou…Inui-senpai…don't you think cocktail would be unsuitable for us? We're all under aged. I wouldn't mind it if we had a glass of orange juice for this task though."

Inui pinned him with his bespectacled gaze. "Oh, don't worry, vice-captain. Rest assured that this drink has zero percent alcoholic content. It's best if all of you don't waste anymore time now. The sooner this is done, the sooner you can all go home."

Silence descended on all of the participants. If they had known that this was the last test, they should have all forfeited the third task. At least that one hadn't come with any punishment.

The optimistic player was the first to speak up. "Well, think of it on the bright side. If we survive this task, we'd be able to go for the camp." He said brightly. A pity he was the only one cheered by his statement.

Echizen casually placed his hands behind his head. "That is _if_ you survive it. Ganbatte, minna."

"Echizen…getting all cocky on us just because you're exempted from all of these. Yosh…we'll have our revenge when we meet you at camp. Inui-senpai…don't tell me we're supposed to finish the whole thing…?" Momoshiro eyed the steaming barrel with distaste.

Inui turned around and walked towards a box, taking ten cups from it. Ten of the teeniest, tiniest cups they've ever seen.

"You will all drink one cup of the cocktail. The first four to regain consciousness would qualify."

Everyone gave a relieved sigh. Such a miniature cup. They couldn't possibly be knocked out for long.

Once each of them had taken a cup, Momoshiro raised his glass in a mock toast.

"Cheers…"

5 seconds later, the courts were filled with the screams of dying players…

XXX

The first winner, apparently, regained consciousness 30 minutes later.

"Fsshhh…" A weak hiss could be heard as the bandanna wearing player got to his feet, causing cheers to erupt from the club members who had been watching (and waiting patiently).

Kaidou, being Inui's protégé, had been forced to consume Inui's concoctions on more than one occasion. So naturally, he did have some immunity towards the drinks, even if only a little.

"Omedetou, Kaidou-senpai. You'll be going to the camp after all." Ryoma said lazily.

Kaidou stared down at the other nine, who were still sprawled on the floor. His eyes landed on Momoshiro, who lay there with his tongue flopped out, and a slight froth was coming out of his mouth. The sight caused Kaidou to start snickering.

"Ch. Baka Momoshiro. Who would have known that you could look this hideous?" He sneered.

"Are you looking for a fight, Mamushi?"

The next moment, Momoshiro had sprung upright in a sitting position (in a fashion that was similar to a Chinese Vampire's), with his eyes still highly dazed. Even in that state, however, the rivalry was extremely strong, as both now had an unfocused glaring competition.

Another half an hour passed by, and Itsuki was the third to open his eyes. The optimistic player gave a silly grin even as he stood up, causing everyone to back off.

That left only one more spot for the camp. Another hour passed, and surprisingly, not a single one of the other players moved even as much as a finger.

As time ticked on, Ryoma decided to dismiss the other club members, while the rest of them waited for the unconscious players to wake.

Ryoma was starting to feel a little uneasy as another few minutes passed by.

"Inui-senpai. Just what did you put in that drink anyway?" He asked when he noticed that none of them looked like they were about to get to their feet anytime soon.

Inui adjusted his glasses. "The tail feathers of a crazy rooster."

Ryoma's eyes widened, while Momo and Kaidou turned green and promptly fainted again. "Now I see what you meant by crazy cock-_tail_ Deluxe." Ryoma nodded in understanding.

Itsuki was pacing between his best friend and the Chessmaster.

"Minori! You'd better get up now, or you might not have the chance to go for the camp. Haruka-chan! Wakey-wakey!"

His pacing became more rapid as he was now walking around the two fallen players in a small circle. "Time to wake now, Minori. Haruka-chan, if you don't wake now I'd get Echizen-buchou to kiss you."

"Hey!" Ryoma gave a protest. Just because he preferred guys, it didn't mean he would kiss any male in sight.

Finally, Minori twitched. Immediately, all their attention was focused on him.

He twitched…and twitched some more…and twitched again…and after a while…he stopped twitching and remained still again.

"Minori! Ah well. Haruka-chan, get up now. Echizen-buchou, why don't you give him a kiss of life?"

"Yadda. Don't make jokes like these, Itsuki-senpai." Ryoma scowled.

At that moment, Takahiro's eyes sprang open. "I would have to agree with buchou. I'd rather kiss my chess pieces." He sat up and stretched for a while before getting to his feet.

"Why does it look like you were napping instead of being unconscious?" Echizen couldn't help wondering aloud.

Takahiro blinked at him. "That's because I _was_ napping. Itsuki-senpai woke me up because he's too loud."

Everyone gaped at him. The Chessmaster shrugged and decided to elaborate. "I regained consciousness shortly before Itsuki-senpai did, but I was too tired and decided to take a nap first."

In actual fact, the Chessmaster was afraid of going to the camp for fear that Inui might have more insane concoctions prepared for the occasion, so he had decided to use his play-dead technique, with the hopes that some other victim would wake at that moment and qualify for said camp, which would have spared him the horror of going there. However, he had gotten tired of waiting and had decided to just go along with the programme.

Ryoma folded his arms. "Well…you'll be coming with us, whether you like it or not. That's an order." Already, the captain was bullying his classmate with his authority.

Inui jotted down something on the notepad. "It is settled then. The ones who are qualified for the camp--Sophomore captain Echizen, Third year vice-captain Momoshiro, Third year Kaidou, Third year Itsuki, Sophomore Takahiro." He announced.

Ryoma tucked his hands into his pockets. "The camp is on the 1st of October, at the Monkey King's Hidden Hills mansion…don't ask. Transport is provided by the Monkey-King-with-bad-naming-sense himself. It will be a one-week camp so make sure all of you come prepared. That is all. Dismiss."

Once he had finished his announcement, he spun on his heels and walked off.

"Wait a minute, Echizen-buchou. What about all these people?" Itsuki gestured to the slumber party. (Pun intended)

Ryoma raised an eyebrow. "Betsuni. Ganbatte with trying to rouse all of them then." He gave a wave and continued walking.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Around late September, just a few days before the camp, Ryoma had been engrossed with reading a tennis magazine when a shadow fell across his path. He lifted his head slightly to throw the offender an annoyed glance when his golden gaze sighted his grinning baka oyaji before him.

"What?" The Seigaku captain asked.

Nanjirou tapped his brown, very worn out racket against his leg. "A match, Seishonen?"

Ryoma considered the offer for a while. "Yadda." He lifted the magazine up higher to block off his oyaji's face.

The monk gave a soft 'ch'. "Youths nowadays really aren't cute at all. At least you were more obedient as a kid."

"Then it's about time you realize I'm not a kid anymore." He stated bluntly, flipping a page.

Nanjirou gave an exaggerated sigh. "Yeah. Before I could even blink, you're already dating without my permission."

"Whoever said I needed your permission for that?" Another page was turned.

Nanjirou continued on with his musings. "Who knows, if I blink some more, for all I know my kid would be having his own kid, if possible."

The golden glare he received for that sentence was no less than murderous. Well, glad to see that he was having his son's full attention now.

"If you have something to say, just hurry up, be done with it and leave me alone. I want to read." Ryoma was rather annoyed now.

Nanjirou continued to tap his racket against his leg, and Ryoma's eyes narrowed slightly. Whenever his dad did this habit, it usually meant that he had some crazy request up his sleeve. In fact, he had a rough idea about what his father might be asking.

After wasting some more of Ryoma's precious time by engaging him in a glaring match (with the glaring being on Ryoma's part), the samurai finally spoke up. "You see, Seishonen. Your mother has really been pestering me about this for some time, and I'm getting quite troubled by it, so if you would be so kind to listen to my wonderful suggestion…"

'I knew it!' Ryoma smirked to himself. "Yadda." He replied even before his father could finish the sentence.

"I knew you would say that. Well then. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to settle this in a match then." Nanjirou smirked, tossing a tennis ball in his hands.

Ryoma gave a snort. This super irritating old man really knew how to get on his nerves sometimes. He finally gave in, knowing that it was the fastest way to get his father to stop pestering him. "Whatever then. I was getting bored anyway." He took a moment to retrieve his racket and followed his father to the court.

Neither sides showed any mercy, as Ryoma was trying to defeat his dad in record time, so that he could be done with this and return to his magazines. Nanjirou, for his part, was giving Ryoma hell and making absolutely sure that his son couldn't score even a point.

As Ryoma wasn't really in the mood for a match, not surprisingly, he lost to his father, 6 games to 3.

"Ceh." He turned around and headed back to his magazines.

Nanjirou raised an eyebrow. "Are? Are we forgetting something, Seishonen. I won the match, so you will have to listen to my request now."

"Yadda." He would only keep his word when he felt like it.

Nanjirou gave another long-suffering sigh. "Oh well. I guess I'll take this into custody for the time being then."

He pulled out something from behind his back, and the sight of it caused Ryoma to drop his magazine.

Nanjirou gave a snicker at seeing Ryoma's horror-struck expression. "Now then. You'll listen to my request this time, I'm sure."

XXX

Tezuka's hand paused in mid air, with his spoon hovering just inches away from his mouth once Ryoma had finished speaking.

"So you're saying…your family is inviting me over for dinner this Friday?" Tezuka asked.

Ryoma nodded. "To be honest, okaa-san had been eager to meet you, ever since my parents found out about us, that was."

Tezuka vaguely wondered how Ryoma had been able to 'postpone' the dinner for such a long time, considering how long it had been since their relationship was found out.

He set his spoon down on his plate. "It's fine with me." He stated his decision.

Ryoma frowned. "It's not fine with me. Who knows what my baka oyaji would do on that day. Probably going to act like a complete ape in front of you."

"I don't think any of his antics would be able to surprise me. He's my club's coach, remember?" Tezuka smiled slightly.

Ryoma groaned and buried his head on the table. "Ceh…I would never have agreed to this if he hadn't taken one of my prized possessions hostage."

Tezuka raised an eyebrow slightly. "What did he take?"

'Your spare racket that you have given me!' "It doesn't matter now. It's back with me now that I've agreed to invite you over." Ryoma mumbled.

Tezuka decided not to pursue the topic further. He returned his attention back to his meal. "I'll go over to your house around the evening then, after club activities."

"I'll meet you at the gates of your school that day. We'll walk home together." Ryoma stated.

Tezuka couldn't help smiling at that. "Aa."

XXX

So it was, on Friday, the Seigaku captain waited at the gates as promised. Kikumaru, Oishi and Fuji had been leaving school around the same time, and when they spotted the black-green haired junior high captain leaning backwards against the wall, all of them instantly turned to throw Tezuka knowing glances. Eiji even nudged him slightly in the side whilst throwing him a teasing grin.

Tezuka ignored the acrobatic player's childish antics. He walked over to his boyfriend, who straightened up and threw him a golden glance. "Shall we make a move on?"

"Aa." Tezuka gave his fellow teammates a farewell nod and walked alongside the Seigaku captain.

Before long, the both of them have reached the gates to the Echizen Residence. "Tadaima." Ryoma called out.

His cousin Nanako was the one who had greeted them at the door. "Okaeri, Ryoma-san. Oro? Why did your teacher follow you home? I hope our Ryoma hasn't been giving you trouble, sensei." She gave a bow.

Tezuka twitched, while Ryoma gave a soft chuckle. The Kanto High captain gave her a bow in greeting. "I am Ryoma's former club captain, Tezuka Kunimitsu."

Nanako immediately flushed from embarrassment. "Oh! You're a senior high student…er, I mean…you're Tezuka-san? I apologize for my mistake."

"There is nothing to apologize for." Tezuka said in reply.

She gestured for him to follow her. "Obaa-san has been expecting your arrival. Please come this way." She led the way to the house.

Tezuka felt mildly nervous about this whole thing, even if it didn't show on his face. Granted, Ryoma had mentioned to him before that his parents had accepted their relationship almost as soon as they found out, but Tezuka couldn't help wondering if they really were okay with their son dating a guy. Wouldn't most normal families freak out from it?

His fears dissolved once he had set foot in the house. Ryoma's mother came to greet him as he entered. "Tezuka-kun. It's so good that you can finally make it for dinner with us." She said warmly.

"Sorry to intrude, Echizen-san." He gave his greeting with a polite bow.

The redheaded woman, whom Ryoma seemed to have gotten most of his facial features from, gave a slight wave of her hand. "Not at all. Make yourself at home while I get dinner ready. Ryoma, could you go give your father a kick?"

Tezuka blinked, not expecting that line to come from such a demure looking woman. His boyfriend gave a slight nod. "Kunimitsu. I'll be back in a while. In the meantime, the living room is that direction."

"Aa." Tezuka got the hint, heading towards one of the couches and sitting down.

The next moment, he heard a yelp from upstairs, as well as Ryoma's voice. "Oyaji, get your butt downstairs. The guest is already here."

Tezuka vaguely wondered if Ryoma had literally given his dad the boot. The former tennis pro came downstairs, with his left hand scratching his head, and his right hand scratching his chest.

"Ah, you're here already, Tezuka-kun. How fast." He reached inside his robes and had just whipped out a magazine (Tezuka turned away at this point, pretending that he had not just seen a nude woman on the front cover. Nope. He has most certainly seen nothing) when Ryoma casually walked by and snatched the indecent material from his father's hands.

"Okaa-san has forbidden you to touch any of your magazines tonight. If you disobey this command, she will burn your entire stash." Ryoma stated calmly while taking the magazine to the back. Nanjirou pouted at that, but fear for his precious magazines has caused him to put on his best behaviour as he sat down quietly, just opposite Tezuka.

Nanako served them some drinks, and Tezuka gave his thanks before taking a cup. Ryoma finally joined him after some time, plopping himself down next to his boyfriend.

Nanjirou had picked up the papers and was now flipping through it. Ryoma engaged his boyfriend in a conversation about school and the club whilst waiting for dinner to be ready.

Not too long later, Nanako announced that dinner was ready, and all of them proceeded to the dining room.

Ryoma didn't need to worry for his boyfriend. Tezuka was being so formal and polite (as that was his nature) that he was already gaining a lot of bonus points from the two females in the house.

He didn't speak much during dinner, and it was only after everyone has finished their meals did all of them begin talking.

Tezuka watched in amusement as Ryoma and his father had somehow gotten into a rather childish argument. Something to do with the brand of rackets. Tezuka had no idea how did this conversation begin, and he certainly didn't see how they could argue over something as trivial as that.

Rinko would keep Nanjirou in check occasionally by pulling his ear. Somehow, the samurai seemed mildly afraid of his wife. Watching the Echizen family's antics, Tezuka felt rather out of place. His family was so different than theirs. The Tezukas were a completely down to earth bunch, while the Echizens…well…they could be hardly considered a normal family.

Nanako seemed to be the only 'normal' one at the table, as she gave a chuckle and turned to Tezuka. "I understand if you're surprised by them, but they're like this all the time. It took me some time to get used to their bantering habits too when I first came over to stay with them. So, Tezuka-kun. What's your family like? Have any siblings?"

Tezuka took a sip of tea before setting the cup back down. "No. I'm an only child. I live with my parents and my grandfather. He's the family patriarch."

The other three had dropped their topic of rackets when Tezuka had started speaking. Nanjirou folded his arms, putting his hands into his robes. "Goodness. Your family still practices the patriarchy system? I knew you were brought up strict, by the way you speak like a robot, but I didn't realize you were brought up _that_ strict."

Ryoma blinked. "What's the patriarchy system like?" He roughly knew the meaning of the word, but he didn't know what type of family that was.

Before Tezuka could explain, Nanjirou had spoken up first. "Usually, the family members are rather old-fashioned. The patriarch is usually the oldest and most influential member of the family, the ruler of the house, and he would be the one to lay down all the rules which the family members must follow."

Ryoma threw a sideglance at Tezuka, who remained as expressionless as ever. That did make sense as to why Tezuka was such a traditionalist, and why he placed so much emphasis on rules.

Nanjirou snorted. "Coming from a family like that, it's a miracle how you and Ryoma…itai, itai, itai…" It was a good thing Rinko had quick reflexes, and she pulled Nanjirou's ear before he could finish the sentence. Ryoma inwardly cheered his mother on for stopping Nanjirou attempts to embarrass Tezuka.

"Ne, Tezuka-kun. What are your hobbies?" Nanako hurriedly changed the subject.

"I like mountain climbing, camping and fishing." His answer seemed to have impressed Rinko and Nanako, but caused Nanjirou to raise an eyebrow.

"I see. You like outdoor activities. That's good." Rinko praised him, and Tezuka gave a small smile in gratitude.

"I would have thought that your hobbies were books and nothing else but books, considering how much of a geek you are…ouch!" Ryoma had stomped on his father's foot under the table.

Rinko decided to do most of the talking after that, preventing Nanjirou from making anymore snarky comments. She noticed that Tezuka, like Ryoma, wasn't the type to talk much, and did her best to make sure Tezuka felt comfortable here. He would only speak up when necessary, and every time he did so, he remained as polite as ever. Already, she was quite fond of the boy.

Nanjirou seemed mildly envious to see his niece and his wife being so taken with Tezuka. He sat back and thought of more ways to interrogate the senior high student. Surely Tezuka couldn't be that goody-goody a person.

"Say, Tezuka-kun. Have you ever dated any girls before?" Nanjirou suddenly asked.

Ryoma choked on his drink at that question. Tezuka patted Ryoma on the back with a hand, while keeping his attention on the samurai at the same time. "No." He replied honestly.

Nanjirou made a sound of disbelief. "With your achievements and your looks, I find it hard to believe you've never dated before. Surely you must be very popular."

"To me, studies and tennis were my main priorities." Tezuka replied.

"Ah. I see. So what changed your mind?" He grinned.

Again, Rinko set about with the task of detaching Nanjirou's ear from his head. "Please ignore him, Tezuka-kun. He likes to tease people like this. Nanjirou, stop making a fool of yourself. You should be ashamed that a 16 year old boy like him is more mature than you."

"Rinko-chan…whose side are you on anyway?" the samurai whined.

As they started to banter again, Nanako started the conversation again.

"Anou…Tezuka-kun. If it's not too personal a question, don't mind me asking, but…how did you meet Ryoma-san anyway?"

Tezuka thought about it a while. "Tennis. It was at the tennis club where I met him, back when I was in junior high."

Nanako clapped her hands together. "What a coincidence. Ojii-sama and obaa-sama became close because of tennis too. It must be fate." She sounded delighted.

"Could we change the subject…?" Ryoma muttered, blushing slightly. He didn't want his father to start teasing them about it again.

Nanjirou continued with his attempts to catch any flaws from Tezuka by asking him very awkward questions, and Tezuka answered each one honestly. Instead of digging out faults from the boy, somehow, all the answers were giving Tezuka more bonus points in Rinko, Nanako and Ryoma's eyes.

Finally, Nanjirou conceded when he ran out of questions to ask Tezuka. He could safely come up with the conclusion that none of the others would object to Tezuka dating Ryoma now. In fact, he was convinced that Tezuka was a complete saint. He had never seen a teenage boy this stoic and well behaved before.

Rinko got up and began cleaning up the table. Tezuka got to his feet immediately. "I'll help you." He offered.

"There's no need to, Tezuka-kun. You're a guest. Did you like the dinner?" She asked kindly.

Tezuka gave a slight bow. "Yes. Thank you for the meal. It was delicious."

Nanako disappeared to the back with Rinko. Nanjirou pinned his son and the Kanto High captain a challenging gaze. "This still doesn't mean I've given my approval yet, seishonen."

Ryoma gave his father a bratty glare. "As I said, I don't need your approval."

Nanjirou smirked. "Ceh. I thought so. Tezuka-kun. Listen up. I'm not going to give Ryoma up without a fight, but I think I'll call a truce for the moment. Make sure you take care of this seishonen."

With that, the samurai left the table, humming to himself. Tezuka blinked. "What…?"

"In other words, he has given the green light for us." Ryoma said, looking smug.

A broad smile appeared on the stoic captain's face. Ryoma's family has officially accepted him, and that was all he needed. Ryoma smirked at seeing his boyfriend so happy. He pulled Tezuka's head down. Just before their lips could meet, however, Ryoma spotted something.

The junior high captain shot to his feet, much to Tezuka's disappointment. "I…will have to see to something a while. Please excuse me." He strode off in quick steps, heading towards the direction of the shelf.

Apparently, his eyes had not deceived him. One of his baka oyaji's magazines was stuffed at the back of the furniture in what was a poor attempt to hide it. Ryoma snatched up the magazine. He had better put this away before Kunimitsu saw this. There was no way he would let his Kunimitsu anywhere near these.

As he made his way to his oyaji's room, he spotted another magazine on the coffee table, and one behind the door, and another jammed behind the toilet seat. That sent the poor Seigaku captain on a secret treasure hunt, as he tried to find all the materials in all the weirdest places.

By the time he had made sure he had found all, or at least most of the offensive materials, and once he was sure he had them all safely hidden from human eyes, he headed back to the living room…and nearly had another bout of heart attack.

For Nanjirou was showing Tezuka Ryoma's baby pictures.

"Oyaji! Keep that away!" Ryoma sounded horrorstruck. The samurai had a firm grip on his son, making sure that Ryoma couldn't snatch the photo album away.

"Cute, isn't he, Tezuka-kun?"

"Aa." Tezuka stared at all the chibi Ryomas in the album. Even as a kid, it seemed that Ryoma could glare pretty well. Tezuka was only astounded by one thing……why on earth was Ryoma wearing skirts and dresses in most of the pictures……

Nanjirou might have sensed the question in his head, for he gave a shrug and said casually. "What's there to be so surprised about? There are times when I don't even take Ryoma to be a boy in the first place."

"Oyaji!" Homicidal thoughts were swimming in Ryoma's mind. He managed to shake his baka oyaji off and took the photo album away. "Pretend you didn't see anything." He hissed before fleeing with it.

Ryoma returned some time later, still red faced. Rinko served them all fruit dessert, which Tezuka accepted graciously. Once that was finished, he took a glance at his watch.

"It is getting late. I will take my leave now, thank you for your hospitality." He said, getting to his feet.

Rinko gave a smile. "It was our pleasure to have you here, Tezuka-kun."

"That's right. In fact, I was thinking of inviting you to stay over for the night. It is already late anyway." Nanjirou stated innocently.

Tezuka blinked. As did Rinko and the others. "No. It would be too much trouble." The Kanto High captain declined politely.

"Oh, you don't have to be so modest, Tezuka-kun. We do have a guest room." Nanjirou said.

Tezuka thought about it a while. He supposed it wouldn't be so bad, since he always carried a change of clothes in his bag anyway. Nanjirou literally had the words 'I insist!' stamped on his forehead. Against his better judgment, he decided to stay. With that, Tezuka gave a bow. "Very well then. I will give my parents a call to inform them about this. Sorry for the trouble."

"Oh don't worry, Tezuka-kun. It wasn't too much trouble. Now then, if you'd follow me after you've made that call. I will show the way to the guest room."

Tezuka did so. Both he and Ryoma then walked behind the monk, who opened the door to one of the rooms.

Tezuka didn't get a clear view as to what was in the room, but Ryoma did. The boy's golden eyes widened at seeing stacks upon stacks of hentai magazines. So this is where his baka oyaji kept the bulk of his stash. With lightning speed, Ryoma slammed the door shut again before Tezuka could take a good look.

Nanjirou gave a laugh. "Silly me. I forgot the guest room was occupied, unless you'd want Tezuka-kun to sleep in there." He smirked at Ryoma, who glared back in return.

His oyaji must have set this up on purpose. He just knew it…

Nanjirou pretended to look thoughtful. "Now this is a headache…where should Tezuka-kun sleep tonight then?"

"He can take my room. I will sleep on the couch." Ryoma said immediately.

Tezuka shook his head. "I'll sleep on the couch."

"Oh, you most certainly can't. We can't let the guest sleep on the couch now, can we?" Nanjirou said sweetly.

XXX

The samurai was not known to be devious for nothing. So it was, 10 minutes later (after much argument on Ryoma and Nanjirou's parts), Tezuka found himself in the same room with Ryoma. Again.

Tezuka scratched his head. Ryoma's father was really a weird person. One moment he was literally protecting his son against the potential wolf, which was Tezuka, and the next moment he seemed to be encouraging Tezuka to pounce on his son. If Tezuka had low self-control, he might have done just that. Good thing his motto was to never let his guard down.

Ryoma had rolled out a futon. Again. "I'll sleep on the floor. You take the bed."

"Isn't that decision up to the guest? I'll sleep on the floor." It looked like they were going to start another battle over this again.

Ryoma frowned. "Fine. We'll both sleep on the floor then." He rolled out another futon.

Tezuka stared down at the two futons. All of a sudden, the Kanto High captain began to laugh.

"What?" Ryoma asked.

As he stifled his chuckles, Tezuka turned to his boyfriend. "I wonder what the others will say if they found us fighting over futons instead of the bed."

That thought caused Ryoma to laugh as well. He shook his head slightly. "May they never find out about this."

He went to change into his pajamas, and once he returned, he noticed that Tezuka had not changed out of his uniform.

"You don't have pajamas?" Ryoma deduced.

"Aa." Tezuka replied. He brought a change of clothes, but not pajamas.

Ryoma riffled through his cupboard. He held out a set of nightwear. "This is my biggest set. Hope it would be able to fit you."

Tezuka blushed slightly. It was a good thing the innocent Ryoma was not able to read his mind. "Arigatou, Ryoma."

"It's better than getting your uniform crumpled, Kunimitsu."

To both Ryoma and Tezuka's relief, the clothes did fit the older boy indeed. Ryoma gave a yawn and slid into his futon. "It's best if you get enough sleep tonight. I daresay oyaji will wear you out with tennis tomorrow. That guy never gets tired of playing against you."

"Aa." Tezuka obeyed. He took off his glasses and placed them on Ryoma's dresser, though when he lifted his hand, his shirt rode up slightly, exposing sculpted abs.

Ryoma couldn't help staring. Tezuka had always had the better built as compared to him. Even up till now, Ryoma hadn't really been able to put on much muscles as compared to some of his other teammates. He had grown taller, but he remained as slender as before, as much as he hated to admit that. He turned away before Kunimitsu could catch him staring.

Tezuka reached out and toyed with a lock of Ryoma's hair. "You really haven't changed much."

"Hmm?" Ryoma enquired with a raise of his eyebrows.

The Kanto High captain traced Ryoma's face. "You're still rather alike your 5 year old self."

That caused Ryoma to give a groan of embarrassment as he hid himself in the futon. "Don't tell me you're still thinking about those pictures…?"

"I can't help it. You were really cute." Tezuka admitted.

Ryoma peeked out from under the covers, throwing his boyfriend a glare. "Don't you ever let Kikumaru-senpai hear that. Or worse…Fuji-senpai!"

There was a short moment of silence. Ryoma was the one to speak up again. "Do you know, Kunimitsu. I could have been born a girl…"

That caused Tezuka's eyes to widen. 'Eh?'

"Before I was born, the doctor informed my parents that they were expecting a daughter. Oyaji especially was delighted about that. He was probably going to name me after all his former girlfriends. However, I made my appearance and dashed all his dreams." He smirked at the last sentence.

"I see." Tezuka couldn't help cheering at that. If Ryoma were really born a girl, they would never have met.

"I don't think oyaji has quite recovered from that blow. This is why the album is filled with those…horrendous pictures…" Ryoma shuddered.

Tezuka smiled. "I didn't think they were horrendous. As I said, they were cute."

"Ceh…" Ryoma snorted, unable to hide the blush from creeping onto his face.

XXX

_Tezuka bounced the ball on the ground as he prepared to serve. "Don't let your guard down." He said sternly. With that, he threw the ball into the air._

_Before he could hit the ball over to the other side of the court, however, he spotted his opponent, and his mouth dropped open in surprise. The ball fell to the ground with a soft 'thump'._

_It wasn't so much of Ryoma being his opponent that had surprised him. No. Ryoma was his opponent often enough anyway. It was more to what Ryoma was wearing that had caused his eyes to bulge and his jaw to go slack._

_For the boy was dressed in a frilly pink dress, tailored in the style of a waitress' uniform. Also, he had a pair of cat ears and a tail to go with the set._

"_What's wrong, Kunimitsu? You don't like it?" Ryoma asked, his lips turned down in a small pout, and his catlike golden eyes watched him intently._

_Tezuka was left spluttering. "R-Ryoma! What on earth are you wearing?"_

'_This had to be a dream. This was definitely a very good…no, not good, bad dream. But kinda good too. Gah! Bad Kunimitsu!' Tezuka scolded himself._

_Ryoma walked over, and Tezuka twitched, tempted to seize his jersey and cover Ryoma with it. As much as he loved the sight, this dress was just too indecent. Besides, why did he have a feeling he had seen this dress somewhere before?_

_Before long, Ryoma was literally "purring" in his face. Before he could even blink, the younger boy had pulled his head down and pressed his lips to Tezuka's hungrily, taking the older captain by surprise. Usually, he was the one who initiated their kisses, and not Ryoma. Also, their kisses were usually rather chaste, not as demanding as what Ryoma was doing now._

_Tezuka never knew that Ryoma could taste so much like……a feather duster…… As the other boy continued to crush their lips together, Tezuka was finding it hard to breathe._

"_Ryoma…you're suffocating me."_

_The green-haired captain did not stop though, and Tezuka was soon running out of air._

"_Ryoma!"_

XXX

The Seigaku captain jolted awake abruptly. He rubbed his eyes sleepily, wondering if he had heard wrong. It seemed as if someone had called his name.

Ryoma glanced to his left, and a short gasp escaped his lips.

For his precious cat was sitting on the face of his precious boyfriend.

"Karupin! Don't kill Kunimitsu!" He snatched the cat off the brunette as he noticed that Tezuka was struggling for breath in his still asleep state.

Tezuka woke with a start, coughing from the lack of air. He reached for his glasses and put them on before turning to glance at Ryoma, who was holding on to the Himalayan feline.

"Gomen, Kunimitsu. My cat has disturbed your sleep." Ryoma said apologetically.

'You have no idea…' Tezuka thought. Seeing Ryoma and his cat together, he couldn't help being reminded of his rather bizarre dream, and a blush appeared on his cheeks, though he quickly looked away before Ryoma could spot it. That photo album yesterday was partially to be blamed as well, as Tezuka remembered just where he had seen the horribly _short_ dress in his dreams.

"It doesn't matter. I usually wake around this time anyway. Why don't you go back to sleep? You usually don't wake this early." Tezuka suggested as he ruffled Ryoma's hair.

"Betsuni. I'm awake anyway, so we might as well go down for breakfast." Ryoma shrugged.

"Aa." Tezuka went to wash up. The first thing he needed was a good mouth rinse. Fur was hardly a good appetizer, and he would very much like to get rid of that stuff from his tongue.

Half an hour later, both of them headed downstairs. The other three occupants in the house were already awake, and Nanjirou sat at the table, reading the papers. He raised an eyebrow when the both of them took their seats at the table.

"Oh? You're up early, seishonen. Hmm…the sun must be rising from the west today."

Ryoma ignored his father's sarcasm as he glanced down at his plate. Ham and eggs. With that, he looked up. "Okaa-san. Western breakfast again?" He asked, his disappointment evident in his voice.

"Ryoma. You can't possibly be eating a Japanese breakfast every morning. One should have more variety in one's daily life." Rinko chided.

"But I like Japanese breakfast, so I don't mind eating it everyday, and…you gave him Japanese breakfast?" He stared at Tezuka's dish.

Nanako set a cup of tea before the both of them. "We only had enough materials to make one Japanese set, so obaa-san decided that Tezuka-san could have it, since he had not tried our Japanese breakfast before."

Ryoma could not object to that. With that, he picked up his fork and poked at the ham. Before he could even cut a slice, however, Tezuka stopped him.

"Here." Tezuka swapped both their breakfasts. Ryoma gave him a grateful smile. "Arigatou."

Nanjirou was peeking at the both of them from the top of the papers. He snorted. "You'd better not spoil him, Tezuka-kun. Otherwise that seishonen might take advantage of your kindness the next time."

"Oyaji!" Ryoma scowled.

Nanjirou merely grinned in reply. "Eat up, Tezuka-kun. After that, we'll be having a match before you leave."

"Aa."

Rinko, who had now joined them at the table, smiled at that. "You're both having a match? That's good. I'll be watching, since today's my day off."

She had heard about Tezuka's prowess on numerous occasions, from both Ryoma and Nanjirou. Not surprisingly, both had given different descriptions of the brunette. According to Nanjirou, Tezuka was still mada mada dana. On the other hand, Ryoma idolized Tezuka, and made it sound as if that guy was undefeatable (by anyone but him).

She would be the judge of that. Once breakfast was finished, all of them rested a while before they headed to the tennis court. Ryoma sat on the bench, with his mother and Nanako on either side of him.

"Ganbatte, Tezuka-san." Ryoma's cousin cheered for the brunette.

The match soon began, and both of them watched the prolonged rally with interest.

"What do you think, okaa-san?" Ryoma asked, his tone indicating that he was extremely proud of his boyfriend.

Rinko nodded. "He is as good as you had said." She admitted. It was rare to see someone who could actually put up so much of a fight against Nanjirou, and she was glad to see her husband enjoying himself.

When the match ended, Rinko came up with her own conclusion about Tezuka Kunimitsu. He wasn't as undefeatable as Ryoma had mentioned, considering he had just lost to Nanjirou, but he certainly wasn't mada mada either. She watched on in amusement as Nanjirou was now throwing a small tantrum, as Ryoma had handed a towel to Tezuka, but hadn't bothered to do the same for his dad.

All too soon, it was time for Tezuka to leave. He gave a bow to the Echizens. "Thank you for letting me stay for the night. I apologize for imposing upon your hospitality."

"It was our pleasure having you here, Tezuka-kun. If you have the time, do drop by for dinner again." Rinko said.

"I understand." Tezuka gave another bow and turned to leave. Ryoma hurried to walk alongside him. "I'll show you out." Ryoma said.

They stopped just outside the gate. Tezuka turned to face the younger boy, smiling slightly. "Your family is nice. Maybe I should drop by again."

"I'll make sure oyaji behaves himself the next time." Ryoma promised.

Tezuka ruffled Ryoma's hair. "I'll see you at camp then."

"Usu."

XXX

Meanwhile, both Nanjirou and Rinko had gone back inside the house. Rinko was smiling slightly. "That Tezuka boy is really so nice. I've not met someone that polite in such a long time."

"I don't like him." Nanjirou muttered. Tezuka was completely stealing the limelight from him, and in his _own_ house at that.

"You should take a leaf out of his book, Nanjirou. Some manners will suit you better." She said sternly.

Nanjirou winced. "Rinko-chan. You don't have to make me sound so bad." He mock pouted.

There was a moment's pause between them. "It's surprising that with Ryoma's character, he still managed to get himself a good catch." Nanjirou smirked.

Rinko nodded. "Hai. If it's that boy, I have no objections to Ryoma dating him."

Nanjirou lit a cigarette. "I still wish Ryoma had gotten someone of the correct gender though. I was hoping that he'd bring home one pretty high school girl to introduce to us, and…wait…those two are pretty boys, aren't they? Wonderful! Maybe they'd be double the bait for all their female schoolmates. We should ask them to bring back some pretty girls and…whoa, Rinko-chan! Don't hold that chair like that! I was only joking! Rinko-chan!!!"

THUMP

To be continued…

A/N: Bwahahahaha! I have officially written one of the most unromantic, fur-filled kiss scene for the Tezuka-Echizen genre. (Receives death glare from both Tezuka and Echizen)

Righto. Next chappie, Nationals! Almost the end of the fic now. Just two more chapters to go and I'm free! Oh wait…there is still the sequel to go.

I might postpone the chapter for the Nationals, as I wish to read more of the manga chapters first. Current manga chapter is 348, Tezuka VS Sanada, and I'm surprised to see Sanada's skills. There is no way Tezuka could win this match…TT

Well, even if Tezuka loses the match, it wouldn't count in my two fics, coz in my story, Seigaku had never fought against Rikkai Dai in the finals. Muahahaha. I made a slight adjustment to the manga story plot (coz they were still fighting against Shitenhouji when I started planning these two fics), so please bear with me.

Alright then. Move on to chapter 21 of Life After Seigaku to see the camp scene.

Though before you do that, **Please Read and Review. No Flames Please.**

-Gwyn


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. I'm just kidnapping them temporarily for this fic. They shall be returned unharmed/unmolested…I think.**

**Warning: May contain spoilers for the latest manga chapters. Shonen-ai fic.**

**Pairings: Tezuka X Echizen, Momoshiro X Ann**

**(This chapter is followed by Chapter 23 in Life After Seigaku)**

A/N: So sorry the update took so long. Was very busy the past few weeks.

Anyway, before I start rambling…**mimikitty**, Happy Birthday! You're as 'old' as I am now. Muahahaha!

Tezuka: Gwynhafra. The pot shouldn't be calling the raven black.

Ryoma: Kunimitsu, shouldn't it be the pot shouldn't be calling the coal black.

Everyone else: ……………You two. It's supposed to be the pot shouldn't be calling the kettle black.

Tezuka and Ryoma: Where do you find black kettles nowadays anyway? We're improvising.

Everyone else: ……………….

**Quill**, incredible. You'd buy Tsun's album? Yosh. I'll pass the word to him now. Mind, he's blushing behind me after hearing you praise his singing.

Ryoma: Tsun-senpai can't hold a tune properly. He really is mada mada…(The Seigaku captain was silenced by both Itsuki and Momoshiro's hands over his mouth)

Oh yes. I saw that Kyou Kara Maou chapter. Strangely, even though he can look so girly in a dress, I cannot picture him being the uke in the relationship. Wolfram's the uke. XD

**Demon-In-Me**, I like OishiKikumaru as well. Sadly there aren't many fics with this pairing. Oh well.

**jia**, thanks. Here's the next chapter.

I've decided to break the Nationals into two chapters. I'm not confident that I can keep it under forty pages, so I'd rather break it down. This chapter will be part one of the Nationals.

Note that the stories are still under hiatus though, meaning I'll be taking my time typing them.

To the story then…

**Echizen, Our Buchou**

By: Gwynhafra

Chapter 20 (Nationals, Part One)

Ryoma gave a soft groan and rolled over on his bed. He didn't want to wake up at all, considering he was still tired after a whole day of practicing yesterday. It wasn't just his body that was protesting. He wasn't really in the mood to play either, as he was still unable to reactivate his ultimate technique, no matter how he tried.

He rolled over again and fumbled sleepily for his alarm clock. They were to meet at 9.50am, and were supposed to check in at the counter by 10am. What was the time now? 10.15am. Wonderful! He still had enough time to take a powernap…eh?

EH????????????????????

Ryoma charged out of his room with the speed of stampeding rhinos, nearly tripping over Karupin as he went. The Seigaku captain washed up and changed in record time before running down the stairs.

"Okaa-san? Oyaji? Anyone?" He yelled. He remembered that his mother had to work today, but what about his baka oyaji and his cousin?

Just then, he noticed a note on the table. Picking it up, he recognized his father's untidy scrawl.

_**Gone to the Nationals. Nanako-chan is out shopping. **_

Oh. That was just so nice of his oyaji to not give him a wake–up call before going to the stadium. Why was it his baka oyaji always kicked him out of bed when he wanted to sleep late, and now that he needed to go early, his oyaji chose to leave him alone instead?

He threw a glance at his watch and gave another yelp. He was very, very late. Momo-senpai was not going to be happy at all!

With that, he grabbed his tennis bag and was out of the door before one could even yell "Seigaku!"

XXX

Rewind back half an hour

"I'm going to kill that brat. I'm going to kill that brat. I'm going to kill that brat…" Momoshiro muttered under his breath rapidly in a style that was almost similar to Ibu Shinji's.

The rest of the regulars shuddered, keeping their distance from the Seigaku vice-captain.

"Ryoma-buchou seemed to have gone back to his old habits again. Of all days, why does he have to be late today?" Kachiro sighed.

"I agree! That guy really doesn't know his responsibilities as captain sometimes! He just had to be late for the NATIONALS! I'm going to kill that brat. I'm going to kill that brat…" Momoshiro continued on with his mantra.

The clock ticked on, and already most of the teams had checked in at the counter already. Now, a few curious onlookers threw glances at the famous Seigaku tennis club, wondering what had happened to the vice-captain, and where was that feared captain of theirs.

Ryusaki-sensei looked at her watch. "There is no time left. We'll deal with that captain of ours later. For now, Horio, come here." She drew out a fila cap, which was a necessity she brought along with her, knowing how late Ryoma could be sometimes.

"They're not really of the same height, you know. Ryoma-buchou is taller than Horio-kun now." Kachiro pointed out.

Ryusaki sighed. "Unfortunately, we don't really have much of an option now. If we register past ten, we'd be disqualified."

With that, Seigaku found itself under the new captaincy of the one with three years of tennis experience. Momoshiro led the regulars to the counter. "Seishun Gakuen, here with 8 regulars."

"Oh. Do your best this round. How strange. Why is it the vice-captain handing in the list of names, and not your captain?" The officer in charge of the registrations threw the cap wearing boy a glance.

Momoshiro gave a weak laugh. "Ahahaha. Gomen. Echizen had too much wasabi yesterday, and he's caught a bit of a cough and lost his voice. It's better if you don't go near him now. It's contagious."

Horio gave a rather fake cough at that moment, eager to make his role convincing. The regulars sweatdropped at that. It was a good thing the officer seemed satisfied with that answer, and didn't press any further. Needless to say, none of them lingered around the counter once Momoshiro had handed in the list.

"Whew! That was a narrow escape." Katsuo patted his chest once all of them left the counter.

"All the participating teams would be doing a lineup at the stadium later. It's the Nationals after all, and all teams who made it here will be given recognition for our participation. If Ryoma doesn't make it by then, he's going to miss this." Tsun said.

"Hah! That will serve that arrogant captain right for being late." Momoshiro huffed.

His fellow third years, Tsun and Itsuki were staring at their watches. "Don't worry! I'm sure the captain would be here in no time." The optimistic player chirped.

Tsun, on the other hand, didn't seem to share his doubles partner's enthusiasm. "I just hope Horio-kun's cover wouldn't be blown during the lineup later."

Kachiro and Katsuo were panicking slightly. "Only 5 minutes left and all teams will be heading for the dome stadium. Should we call Ryoma-kun to ask for his location?"

Momoshiro shook his head. "It'll be his funeral if he doesn't get here in time."

Right at that moment, Horio was literally pounced on by a cheerful Kikumaru.

"Ochibi!!!" The poor brown haired tennis player probably had never predicted that he, the innocent replacement for one bratty captain, could ever fall victim to the life threatening glomps of the acrobatic senior. Not once in his three years tennis experience did he ever predict that this might happen.

"Kikumaru-senpai! Can't breathe…!" Horio wailed.

Kikumaru blinked. "Hoi? You're not ochibi!"

"That's what Tezuka said, Eiji." Oishi sighed.

This round, the venue was the same for both the junior high and the senior high groups, so all of them would be having their competitions in the same stadium. Just at different locations. They would all be having their lineups together though.

The Kanto High players were all here at the moment. Horio blinked at Tezuka. "Are? Tezuka-buchou's eyesight is now better than Kikumaru-senpai's? How did you know I wasn't Echizen-buchou?"

Tezuka didn't reply. Instead he frowned and maintained a poker face. The others didn't bother to give him an explanation, while a few like Momo, Kaidou and Kikumaru shifted uncomfortably on the spot. Oishi gave a nervous laugh, but didn't explain either.

Before Horio could throw the question again, Ryusaki-sensei had spotted Kanto High's coach and raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what would you be doing with them, Nanjirou?"

Nanjirou whipped out a pair of dark-glasses from who-knew-where and put them on. "I'm not Nanjirou. I don't know any Nanjirou's."

Ryusaki snorted. "Come on, Nanjirou. Who are you trying to kid? You've used that far too often, and it's never worked on me anyway."

The monk had his arms folded. "I'm their coach, of course, Ryusaki baba."

Ryusaki Sumire's raised her eyebrows. She had expected him to say he was stalking those poor players in the hopes of meeting their pretty sisters, but she most certainly didn't expect this as an answer. Nanjirou. The selfish, perverted Nanjirou…becoming a coach voluntarily? And for Tezuka's team at that?

"How strange. Even after I've made a request for you to be a coach before, you have never accepted any of my requests. How did you become the coach for that team then?"

Nanjirou didn't give her a reply, and she frowned at the rapidly changing expressions on his face. Was it that difficult to give her an answer?

Unfortunately, before she could ask him again, they could hear the announcement being broadcasted.

"Would all teams now make their way to the dome stadium for the lineup? The opening ceremony for the Nationals will commence shortly."

"Looks like it's time. Move along now, boys." Ryusaki ordered.

Horio gulped, looking as if his knees might collapse under him any moment. "We'll be found out…we'll be found out…" he muttered repeatedly.

"Relax. If you start trembling like that the other players are going to be suspicious. Just keep your head down, and pull your cap lower." Momoshiro instructed. Inwardly, however, the dunk smash player would have to agree with Horio. How were they going to go through the lineup without being found out was beyond him.

Still, there was no other option for them. "Let's go." Momoshiro said. With a spirited cheer, Seigaku began walking off, heading towards the dome stadium.

XXX

Someone must have cast some kind of voodoo against him. In fact, Ryoma was pretty convinced that that day, he was totally, completely jinxed.

As if his day hadn't started out bad enough yet by being late to the Nationals. The Seigaku captain was nearly mowed over by a bicycle, was hit by a handbag (as the lady thought that he was some kind of stalker after seeing him run like that), had his cap bombarded by stray bomb dropped by a passing crow (and had to change his cap), was nearly hit by a car, missed the bus and had to run all the way there in record time.

Just when he had finally reached the competition grounds, a whole horde of fangirls from who-knew-where had surged forwards to ask for his autograph, effectively blocking him from reaching his team, which was right in front of him.

Ryoma was no gentleman anyway, and by hook or crook…or more exactly, by push and shove, he fought his way through the sea of squealing girls. He was not too late yet! He must make it no matter what!

Ryoma broke out into a sprint. Yes! Just a few more feet now…a couple of feet left…

His cap had chosen to slip down right at that moment, covering his eyes, and causing him to trip over a rock which was lying innocently in his path.

The Seigaku captain collided headfirst into a wall as he made his grand entrance. No, not a wall. It was solid, but definitely softer than a wall.

"Ryoma…"

Oh dear. He must have hit his head pretty hard. Walls could speak now.

He lifted his cap slightly to find no less than 17 pairs of eyes staring at him. The person right before him frowned.

Oh crap…he collided into Kunimitsu's back.

"Echizen…I can so kill you right now…" Momoshiro growled, rolling up his sleeves.

"Momoshiro, we don't have the time for this. Mattaku. You should be ashamed of yourself, Echizen. You're the captain, but you're this late for the Nationals. I'll deal with you later." Ryusaki said sternly. She nudged her head slightly to indicate that Ryoma should hurry up and liberate Horio from his position, much to the latter's relief.

"Usu." Ryoma muttered, pulling his cap lower. He avoided his boyfriend's eyes, knowing that the older captain was most likely throwing him a disappointed look.

"Well, seishonen. Had a nice sleep I hope. You looked so tired this morning; I just didn't have the heart to wake you." Nanjirou grinned.

Ryoma scowled. What a liar. His baka oyaji certainly wasn't this thoughtful for the other times.

As they walked to the stadium, Ryoma wondered if anything would be alright today. Right before his team got into line; someone laid a hand on his shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. Ryoma looked up, surprised, just in time to see Kunimitsu walk away.

It took all of Ryoma's self-control not to start grinning on the spot. Kunimitsu wasn't angry with him. His luck might not be so bad today after all!

With his spirits back up, Ryoma stood in line with his team, not even minding the long, boring speeches that had accompanied the opening ceremony.

He smirked once the Nationals were officially declared commenced. "Mada mada dane…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He was a reserve….

Echizen Ryoma, the feared Seigaku captain, was made a reserve for the first competition, and needless to say, he was far from happy once the order of the players was revealed.

"Alright then. Any questions?" Ryusaki-sensei asked.

Not surprisingly, an instant protest came from Ryoma. "Sensei. Why am I placed as a reserve? Wasn't I supposed to be in Singles 1?"

Ryusaki gave him a stern look which would have rivaled Tezuka's. "Consider this your punishment for coming late, captain."

No matter how much he protested, Ryusaki wouldn't change the order of the players, and his vice-captain too wasn't helping, as Momoshiro seemed to be backing up Ryusaki's decision fully.

Seigaku's first match, which was against Hyotei, started off soon enough. While Ryoma was pretty confident that the rest of his team could handle the opponents, he remained sulking slightly for being left out.

The Nationals followed a slightly different order as compared to the usual competitions. The game would start off with Singles 3, followed on by Doubles 2, Singles 2, Doubles 1 and finally Singles 1.

Currently, Kachiro was the representative for Singles 3. As the sophomore walked down to the courts for his match, Ryoma shoved his hands into his pockets and stood up.

"Echizen. Where are you going to?" Ryusaki asked.

Ryoma halted for a while before turning to face her slightly. "Ponta." With that, he walked away.

Ryusaki snorted. She severely doubted he'd be back anytime soon. "I do believe Echizen's going to be holding this grudge for quite a while. By the way, Momoshiro. You've really surprised me when you made that request to place the captain as a reserve. What was going on in your mind anyway?"

"Ahahaha…" Momoshiro laughed weakly, not sure of whether he should tell her the truth. In actual fact, it wasn't him who had requested for Ryoma to be placed as a reserve. No. It was Ryoma's dear boyfriend who had made that request for him.

"_Please make Ryoma a reserve._" Tezuka's words rang through his head again. The Kanto High captain had not explained as to why he had made this suggestion, but Momoshiro believed the brunette would know what he was doing. Tezuka always had Ryoma's best interests at heart anyway.

Momoshiro silently chuckled. If Echizen ever found out that the current order of players was thanks to Tezuka-buchou, the bratty Seigaku captain would definitely have his boyfriend's butt kicked in tennis for the rest of the year.

XXX

Ryoma held his newly purchased can of Ponta as he strode over to the senior high's section. He had confidence in his team, despite all of them being mada mada if compared to him, and he doubted he would be playing at all since he was, after all, the _reserve_ player. With that, he decided it was more interesting to watch his senpai-tachi's games.

He reached the east side of the stadium, where the senior high games were held. Even as he neared the place, he could hear the crowd cheering, a sign that there was a match already going on.

"Ochibi!!!" Not surprisingly, Kikumaru was the first to spot him and to give him an enthusiastic greeting.

"Ah, Echizen. You've come to watch our game?" Oishi smiled. Ryoma merely gave a small nod as a reply.

"Good then. Stand here, ochibi. You'd get the best view." Kikumaru literally dragged Ryoma over to the rest of the Kanto High members.

Nanjirou, who was bench coach, took his eyes off the current match (Yamato's) and turned around slightly to throw his son a smirk.

"That's rare for you to run around watching other people's matches, seishonen. What's wrong? That Ryusaki-baba made you a reserve?" The arrow hit the target dead centre, causing Ryoma to twitch.

"Hmph. About time someone deflated that ego of yours, Echizen." Atobe took the chance to step on Ryoma's pride, while giving his own ego a boost at the same time.

Ryoma threw him a withering glare. He brandished his red racket before him. "I wouldn't mind a match against you now, King of the Monkeys. You can return for your match after that. Bald, of course."

Atobe didn't give him an immediate reply. He seemed to be studying Ryoma for a while, and the junior high captain most certainly didn't appreciate the stare.

Before Ryoma could throw a snarky comment, Atobe had given a laugh. "My, my. Ore-sama really is lucky today. Who would have known that ore-sama will ever have the chance to see Echizen Ryoma having dark circles around his eyes. What's wrong? Haven't had enough sleep yesterday? You should know better than to overexert yourself before a major competition like this. I will have to applaud your coach for having the foresight for making you a reserve. There's no way you're able to play a proper match when you're not up to your usual level. Baka."

Ryoma frowned. Now that Atobe mentioned it, he was actually tired, just that the excitement of the Nationals had pushed his lethargy out of his mind. Did Ryusaki-sensei notice that, and therefore made him a reserve? If that was the case, as much as he hated to admit it, she was more observant than he thought.

He watched the match a little while, though his eyes itched with tiredness, and a few times he reached up and rubbed them.

"If you're tired, get some rest." Tezuka spoke up.

Ryoma looked up to find his boyfriend standing next to him. Ryoma shook his head. "Yadda." He'd rather watch the match, which was more interesting than just resting under the shade of some random tree.

Tezuka stopped Ryoma just when the latter was about to rub his eyes again. "Don't rub them. It's not good for your eyes. Get some rest. I'll go with you."

"Then your match…" Before Ryoma could finish the sentence, Atobe gave a snort.

"That Tezuka made himself a reserve. Well, then again, he lost the Peasant's Game for the position of Singles 1 anyway. Ore-sama is fated for this position. Be awed by ore-sama's beautiful skills." Atobe cast a glance in Tezuka's direction. He knew that Tezuka made himself a reserve because Ryoma was one too, and the Kanto High captain probably didn't want the Seigaku captain to feel left out.

Tezuka turned to his vice-captain. "I'll be leaving this to you then, Atobe." Once the captain has given the instructions, he strode off, with Ryoma walking next to him.

XXX

Both captains were now under a rather shady tree. Ryoma used his arms to pillow his head, as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the breeze. Tezuka sat next to him, and the ever studious senior high captain had taken out his notes to read.

After a moment of companionable silence, Ryoma opened his eyes and gazed up at his boyfriend.

"Ne, Kunimitsu. Are you sure it's such a wise idea for you to forfeit Singles 1?"

Tezuka glanced down at his younger boyfriend. "Atobe would be able to handle it, so I'm not too worried."

The black-green haired boy gave a chuckle. "That baka Monkey King had better not hear you say that. His head is inflated enough as it is."

Ryoma gave a yawn. "Well, I believe Momo-senpai would be able to handle Seigaku as well. He did that during the months of my absence, so I'm not too worried either. If ever he starts a fight with Kaidou-senpai, there's always Ryusaki-sensei to deal with them anyway."

Tezuka smiled. Ryoma was stating his trust in his team, just in a rather indirect way.

"Aa." Tezuka returned to his books as Ryoma closed his eyes again and dozed off.

XXX

Meanwhile, Seigaku had already won their first three matches during their captain's absence. It was now down to the next match.

"We will now have Doubles 1. Seigaku's Momoshiro-Kaidou pair VS Hyotei's Hiyoshi-Ootori pair."

"Don't get in my way, baka Momoshiro."

"I was about to say the same thing mamushi!"

Ryusaki-sensei sighed. She knew that it was a bad idea to place them in doubles. Still, they'd need Kaidou to handle Ootori, and Momoshiro to handle Hiyoshi.

She threw a glance at the two Hyotei players. With Ootori playing doubles, the one half of the Silver Pair was at the top of his game again, since Ootori was better in doubles than he was in singles. Hiyoshi was no stranger to doubles either, and Ryusaki recalled his performance last year, when he paired with Gakuto.

The game kicked off in no time. Choutarou scored the first game with service aces thanks to his Neo Scud Serve. The next round was Momoshiro's serve.

"We can't let them win like that na, we can't yo." Momoshiro hit a Bullet Serve, scoring the first point.

"When had Momoshiro learnt this?" Hiyoshi wondered aloud. The dunk smash player hadn't shown this skill in their previous match.

Momoshiro scored several times, that was, until Choutarou returned the shot. The speed of the serve was nothing compared to the scud serve after all.

Kaidou took that chance to use the Snake Shot.

"Game, Seigaku. 1 game all."

"We've managed to get a tie with them." Kachiro and Katsuo cheered.

Tsun gave a soft chuckle and tapped them both lightly on their heads. "It's still too early to tell. The game has only just started.

Surely enough, Hiyoshi decided to use his Enbu tennis style once it was his turn to serve, and he fired lethal returns that allowed him to score the games quickly.

If that wasn't bad enough, Momoshiro and Kaidou collided when they tried to return one of the shots, and instantly a war sparked between the two. The both of them began bickering even though they were in the middle of an official match.

In fact, the fighting had gone so bad that Ryusaki-sensei had to call for a temporary timeout before the two bitter rivals slaughtered each other on the courts.

"Itai…itai…itai…" Both Momoshiro and Kaidou yelped as Ryusaki-sensei pulled their ears once they were at the sides. She might be rather advanced in age, but she still had one hell of a strong grip. In fact, if she had used her full strength, there was no guarantee that their ears might still be attached to the sides of their heads.

"Kora! What do you think the both of you are doing, Momoshiro-fukubuchou? Kaidou?" She snarled.

She released them a few moments later, and both of them massaged the sides of their heads to feel if their ears were still there, giving a sigh of relief when they realized their hearing organs were perfectly intact.

"Have you two forgotten it's the Nationals now? Mattaku, bickering like little kids when you're both already third years. What kind of example are you giving your juniors?" She gave them both a piercing stare.

"Get back to the courts, and behave yourselves this time. Otherwise I will inform Echizen of this, and he can deal with the both of you." There was warning in her tone, and they obeyed instantly.

Kaidou gave a soft hiss, watching as the two Hyotei players prepared to return to the courts too. He gave another hiss before turning around slightly. "Momoshiro." He hissed through his teeth. Already, it was killing him to address his rival.

Momoshiro raised an eyebrow, but got the hint that Kaidou wished to speak to him and walked over to the bandanna wearing player.

Kaidou threw Hiyoshi a dark look. "That gekokujou guy over there…you deal with him."

"Are? What's wrong, Mamushi? Are you asking for my help?" Momoshiro snickered.

Kaidou gave a hiss, though he stopped himself at a warning glance from their coach. He tried to calm down a little before talking.

"He's very adept at quick matches, while my abilities are best only when the matches are drawn out. You'll have to deal with him. I'll deal with Ootori. Fssshhh…"

"Hai, hai. Well, it's about time we make our comeback. They can't keep scoring like that na, they can't yo."

True to his word, when Ootori did yet another Scud Serve, Kaidou returned it. "I've seen that skill far too many times. It's not going to work on me anymore. Fssshhh!"

Hiyoshi moved to the net. "Gekokujou!" He aimed towards the left.

To his surprise, Momoshiro had suddenly appeared at the net too, and the dunk smash player hit a swift return to the spot Hiyoshi had vacated, scoring a point. "Oh! I've got a point. Lucky!"

'How did he move so fast?' Hiyoshi wondered to himself.

While Momoshiro kept an eye out for Hiyoshi, Kaidou dealt with the scud shot player. Every time Ootori used his speedy return, Kaidou was already there, preparing to hit it back to the other side of the court.

By accident, Ootori hit a lob while trying to catch one particularly difficult return.

"Not good! Ootori!" Hiyoshi had already gotten into his Enbu tennis style to return it. Choutarou too braced for the dunk smash.

Surely enough, Momoshiro leapt into the air. "You're too naïve!"

To their surprise, Momoshiro allowed the ball to pass and dodged out of the way. Kaidou had leapt up into the air and did a dunk smash instead.

Ootori reacted instantly and tried to return it. Momoshiro took the chance and did a boomerang snake.

"What the…they're using each other's skills?" Hiyoshi realized.

Momoshiro grinned. "Dun."

Surely enough, the Hyotei pair realized that they couldn't concentrate on just one of the two. If they tried to prevent Kaidou from hitting a boomerang snake, Momoshiro would hit it instead. The same thing would happen if they tried to prevent chance balls for Momoshiro.

The Seigaku trickster made sure that the two Hyotei players remained overly guarded during the game, and in turn, because they were so cautious, they could hardly score a point.

Kaidou did a dunk smash, and this round, Hiyoshi managed to return it.

Kaidou gave a soft hiss and raced after the ball, but at that moment, Momoshiro yelled over his shoulder.

"Mamushi! Don't hit it!"

His yell caused Kaidou to halt in surprise. The ball landed beyond the baseline.

"Out! Game and match, won by, Seigaku. 6 games to 4."

"Yes!" Both Momoshiro and Kaidou gave each other a friendly punch to celebrate their triumph. Sadly, Momoshiro seemed to have used too much strength, causing Kaidou to give a yelp of pain. The Seigaku regulars soon found themselves celebrating their win in Doubles 1 by pulling the two third-years apart, since now they were throwing punches for real.

Takahiro gave a sigh and picked up his racket. "Well, better finish this before buchou returns."

XXX

"Oh? You're my opponent?"

Takahiro gave his Singles 1 opponent, a guy at least two heads shorter than he was, a bored stare.

So far, the Chessmaster had not made a single sound yet. Instead, as was his usual practice, he merely observed the guy quietly.

The Hyotei player, most likely a first-year new regular, pointed his racket at the Chessmaster. "I've heard that you've never lost a match before, and you have a tendency to use strategy games against your opponents. Is that true?"

Takahiro didn't make a reply immediately. After a few moments, he lifted a finger and pointed towards the Hyotei freshman. "You…"

"…had celery and black-pepper sauce for breakfast, and a cup of cucumber juice. I woke up late this morning and rushed to the competition grounds without checking on my attire first, that is why I'm wearing odd-coloured socks right now. Also, I forgot to brush my teeth today and I should have yesterday's dinner stuck between them. I had ham and mangoes yesterday, by the way." The Hyotei player smirked. "That was what you were trying to say, weren't you?"

Takahiro said nothing. Instead, he turned around and walked towards the baseline, preparing for the opponent's serve.

"One set match. Hyotei's Henna, to serve."

Meanwhile, as the game was going on, the Seigaku players were all trying to recover from a severe bout of nausea, all thanks to the highly unappetizing images that had popped into their minds. Itsuki was the only one unaffected by Henna's daily diet, as he remained smiling cheerfully to his teammates.

"Now, now. All of you are going to miss Haruka-chan's match at this rate."

The sophomore pair were draped on the bench, both looking like they might lose their breakfast any moment. Kaidou gave a soft hiss, with his face as green as his bandanna. Momoshiro gave a weak laugh. "You can't eat something like that na, you can't yo."

Tsun and Momoshiro recovered the fastest, and both turned their attention to the match.

"Ne. Inui-senpai doesn't have a brother now, does he?" Tsun asked.

Momoshiro shook his head. "Nope. He's an only child."

A moment's silence. "Perhaps he has a long lost brother. Who knows?" Tsun muttered thoughtfully.

While the Seigaku regulars were having a small discussion about Inui's potential long lost little brother, Takahiro was having a hard time scoring against his opponent.

Hiyoshi did his homework, and knew that Takahiro's strength was a prolonged match. The longer the match drew on, the stronger his skills became. He deliberately arranged for a speed-type player to go against the Chessmaster. Henna was able to score extremely fast, and just ten minutes into the game, Hyotei was already leading, 2-0.

"What's wrong? The game's moving too fast to your liking? You're a strategy player, and you can't possibly come up with a strategy quick enough to match a fast-paced game."

Takahiro stared at him. "7 moves." He said quietly.

"Whoa! Haruka-chan is finally using his Prediction skill." Itsuki cheered.

The Chessmaster began to play offensive, hitting towards the corners with all his strength.

This was no problem to Henna though, who could reach the corners easily. "This is the eight shot!" He scored.

The Seigaku regulars gave a groan of dismay. Takahiro's prediction has failed.

The Chessmaster frowned slightly, but otherwise maintained his bored expression. Once more, he tried again.

"15 moves." With that, he fired a serve over the net.

Again, the Hyotei freshman overtook him. "16!" He scored precisely one shot above Takahiro's prediction again.

"Man. His predictions are all wrong. Then again, I can't really blame him. Only the Pinnacle of Great Wisdom has absolute predictions, and he most certainly doesn't have that skill." Tsun said.

This happened again and again, until Hyotei was now leading 4 games to 0. The Seigaku regulars and non-regulars alike were stumped. Never had they seen the usually skillful Chessmaster having such a one-sided match.

"Mou. Can't that guy come up with another strategy? This one is not working! Also, why is he insisting on using prediction when it's completely ineffective?" Momoshiro wondered aloud. He threw a glance at Itsuki, who was smiling. "Ne, Keita. We could use some of your morale boost now."

"Haruka-chan will not lose. He's already had a strategy since the beginning of the match." The optimistic player said calmly.

The Hyotei player grinned at the Chessmaster. "Hah! I'll make sure that your school will not get 5 sets in a row. This will probably be your first loss in an official match. In fact, in no time I'd probably be able to face your captain Echizen. Where is he anyway?"

Takahiro gave a soft snort. "Wherever he is, you'd be crazy to disturb him now." From the Chessmaster's observation, whenever the Seigaku captain was away for such a long time, he was probably taking a nap somewhere after enjoying a can of Ponta. Either that or he was with a certain senior high captain.

Amongst the audience, Momoshiro gave a sigh. "Honestly. This Hyotei freshman is rather cocky as well. The juniors just get more and more arrogant as the years go by, don't they?"

The black-haired Seigaku sophomore stood around the baseline as Henna prepared to serve.

"8 shots." The Chessmaster said.

The Hyotei freshman gave a snort. "It gets boring if you keep using something as useless as that." He served.

This round, instead of hitting it to a different corner, Takahiro hit a lob.

Henna's eyes literally gleamed at the chance ball. "Too easy!" He leapt into the air.

The ball fell harmlessly onto the ground. Henna did too, rolling on the ground clutching his right leg. Apparently his muscles had cramped up.

Takahiro tapped his racket on one shoulder. "That took long enough."

Needless to say, Seigaku and Hyotei players alike gaped. Itsuki smiled at his teammates. "Told you."

Since the start of the day, Takahiro had taken a glance around the stadium during the lineup, spotting for potential opponents. He had most certainly not seen this player with the other Hyotei regulars, and guessed that this guy, like their wonderful captain, was late, except that this guy was so late, he'd even missed the lineup and the warm-up sessions that followed. During the start of the match, Takahiro had wanted to point that out to him, and to suggest for him to do a short warm-up exercise first. Sadly, the smart-aleck had decided to interrupt his good intentions, and one thing the Chessmaster absolutely hated was to have his speech cut of halfway. He decided to ditch the role of the Good Samaritan, and allowed that Hyotei player to have his way then.

When the match first begun, Takahiro was instantly able to identify this player as a speed type, and from experience, speed-type players usually had low endurance, especially for a first-year player like this. (Unless he happened to be a monster like their Echizen-buchou) He deliberately allowed the opponent to use his high speed style of playing, and even aimed for the corners to encourage more running around the courts. To increase the tension, he used his 'predictions'. The Hyotei freshman took the bait, of course, and raced after the ball eagerly in the same manner a playful kitten did to a ball of yarn. Needless to say, the opponent had dug his own grave by using such high tension style of playing without a proper warm-up first.

The tide has turned, and now, Takahiro was the one catching up effortlessly. The opponent continued on despite the leg cramp, but he was no match against the Seigaku sophomore who was not suffering from injuries of any kind.

"Game and match, won by, Seigaku's Takahiro. 6 games to 4. Seigaku has 5 wins 0 losses. Seigaku proceeds on to the next match." The referee announced.

Ryusaki-sensei gave the Chessmaster a nod as he returned to the others. "Well done, Takahiro-kun. Well. We've managed to move on to the next match. Poor Echizen really didn't have his chance to compete at all. Speaking of that guy, where is he anyway?"

"Er…" All the Seigaku regulars exchanged looks. Nope. It was better if they kept the answer from her. They doubted her old heart would be able to take it.

"Mattaku. That boy must be having such a nice nap that he forgot the time. I'll go look for him." The coach really marched off before any of them could stop her. As one, all of the regulars rushed to follow her, hoping to spot the captain first before the old coach did. All of them, by silent consensus, agreed that Takahiro should be the one to walk in front.

Of course, Ryukaki-sensei didn't know of their real intentions, and thought that they were just extremely dedicated to their captain, to the point that all of them would go out looking for him too. Well, the more people they were searching for Echizen, the faster they'd be able to find him.

Takahiro was (not surprisingly) the first to spot the target and his brunette boyfriend under a tree. The younger captain was using the older captain's lap as a pillow. If Ryusaki-sensei saw this, she'd be blind to not figure out what was going on.

They were rapidly approaching the two. A moment later, Takahiro suddenly spoke up. "The sun disappears in the horizons, just far north."

Ryusaki blinked. "What on earth are you talking about, Takahiro?" His brain must have cross wired from exhaustion after the match just now.

The others knew that the keywords were 'just far north', which meant that their captain was just ahead of them.

Momoshiro gave a rather loud, sheepish laugh at the moment.

"Ah, gomen, Ryusaki-sensei. I forgot that Echizen mentioned that he'd be hitching a ride in his father's car later."

"He did? I didn't see you two talk at all, so when did he inform you about this?" Ryusaki asked.

Momoshiro gave a laugh. "Well…during the lineup."

"Yes. I saw them talking this morning." Tsun immediately played the role of false witness.

"Me too." The optimistic false witness number two lied with a straight face.

"Fsshh (Me three)." False witness number three hissed.

Ryusaki held up her hands. "I get it, I get it. So Echizen wouldn't be following us back to school, I see."

"Oh yes! Absolutely sure!" Momoshiro deliberately raised his voice again.

Ryusaki frowned. "Momoshiro. You don't have to speak so loud. Are you trying to broadcast this to everyone around the competition grounds?"

'Precisely what I'm trying to do.' Momoshiro thought. He hoped at least his voice would alert Tezuka, who in turn will wake Ryoma and get him out of there before the obaa-chan spotted them. He heard a soft rustle and the sounds of feet escaping, and knew that he was successful.

Ryusaki gave a sigh. "Ah well. I was about to give him a lecture on him being late today, but I suppose making him a reserve is a good enough punishment already. I hope he has learnt his lesson. If he ever arrives late again, I'll see to it that he wouldn't have the chance to compete at all. Momoshiro, make sure you pass that message to him."

"Hai."

XXX

Well, at least the message had gotten across, and Echizen made sure he was punctual for the rest of the matches.

Seigaku advanced to the semi-finals, and Ryoma had his chance to play again. He was the representative for Singles 1, against Rikkai Dai.

"Well, at least I'm not playing against a handicapped player this round." Kirihara sniggered.

Ryoma's expression hardly changed, as a smirk formed on his lips. "Hmm? As I recall, you lost to this 'handicapped player', did you not? In fact, you seem to have a talent for losing to injured players. I could probably play against you with my eyes closed." Already, Ryoma's bad habit of taunting others before a match was showing.

Kirihara gave a smirk and licked his lips, his eyes turning bloodshot. "I'll make you eat your words, Echizen Ryoma."

"He's going Devil Mode even in the start of the game?" Momoshiro gasped.

"He intends to destroy Echizen-buchou…" Tsun warned.

Ryoma didn't look affected though, as he held his racket in his right hand. He threw the ball into the air, and did a twist serve, which spun on the ground for a long moment before flying up towards Kirihara's face.

"Oh? You seem to have improvised your twist serve. Sadly, this is not going to work on me." In Devil Mode, Kirihara's speed has increased anyway, and with the one-foot split step to his advantage, he easily returned the shot towards the far corner, away from where Echizen stood.

Ryoma had been bouncing lightly on the spot after his serve, and the minute Kirihara hit the ball, his legs moved instantly as he predicted where the shot would land. Using the one-foot split step, he reached it with plenty of time to spare, and hit it over the net in the form of a drop shot.

The devil Kirihara had not predicted that move, and was not able to reach it in time. Ryoma smirked as the referee called the scores.

"You're slow."

Kirihara licked his lips again. "I'll kill you…"

Meanwhile, everyone else had dropped their jaws at seeing Ryoma's performance. As compared to the match he had with Kirihara during the Kantou Games, he was much, much better this round. It was all thanks to his complete recovery, as now he could use his trademark skills such as his right-hand twist serve and his one-foot split step.

The cocky sophomore captain seemed to have some kind of a death wish, as during the next serve, he used his fiery Tornado Twist Serve instead, and the ball managed to clobber the Devil Kirihara on the face.

Things seemed to be going quite smoothly for Ryoma, who won the game without breaking a sweat. In fact, the game was so quick that everyone, except the oblivious captain, had a bad feeling about it.

Kirihara gave a rather cold laugh as it was time for his serve. He gripped the ball with his knuckles. "Bye bye." He sneered before tossing the ball up into the air and serving.

Ryoma tried to recall the way he defeated this skill the last time. He distinctly remembered that the ball produced a different rustle when aiming for different parts of the body. Sadly, now that his vision was back and his hearing had toned down, the rustle sounded the same to him, and when the ball shot up, it hit him on the knee, causing him to keel over slightly.

The next round, when he heard the same rustle and used his racket to protect his knee, he realized it was aiming for his face, and managed to dodge slightly. Not quickly enough though, as the ball grazed his cheek.

With a sinking feeling, Ryoma realized that he had fewer chances to defeat this shot as compared to the time when he had been blind. He would have to find a solution for this soon, before he was battered alive.

It was back to his serve again, since Kirihara won the game, and Ryoma used the Tornado Twist Serve once more. In the blink of an eye, Kirihara deactivated Devil Mode and activated the state of self actualization instead. He copied Sanada's Invisible Swing, returning the twist serve faster than Ryoma could react.

'Goodness. He has this much control over Muga no Kyouchi?' Ryoma wondered to himself.

With it now being back to Kirihara's serve, Ryoma knew that he had to figure out a way fast, as the devil Kirihara was once more preparing to use a knuckle serve.

To think that he regained his sight only to lose his enhanced hearing.

…Oh…that was right. He had regained his sight…

As the ball spun on the ground, Ryoma concentrated on it, using his motion vision to analyse the spins. He realized that if he studied it well, each shot had a different spin. The ball hopped up, aiming for his face, and this round, Ryoma returned it.

Once more, the Knuckle Serve was broken through, and Ryoma managed to even out the scores.

The devil Kirihara, knowing that his skill was seen through, seemed contented to challenge the Seigaku captain to a rally while he thought of another way. It was more of a high speed rally, with the two one-foot split step players darting around the courts so quickly, the audience's eyes hurt trying to catch up with them.

Ryoma wasn't that generous to give Kirihara the opportunity to come up with a plan though, as before long, he used his Echizen Zone, making Kirihara run around the courts.

The Seigaku captain was able to conserve his stamina this way, while ensuring that the devil ran his own stamina down. Just as Ryoma was nearing match point, Kirihara seemed to have finally come to a solution.

He hit the next shot, which Ryoma tried to counter with a backhand. To his surprise, the ball seemed to have disappeared suddenly, and Ryoma's racket connected with thin air. The ball reappeared next to Ryoma, hitting him in the arm.

Kirihara smirked as Ryoma clutched the wounded appendage. "Phantom Ball." He declared out loud.

Ryoma frowned. Phantom Ball? Wasn't this the shot he used during the U.S- Japan match, against Kevin Smith last year? He didn't recall it being this violent. A few moments later, he remembered that Kirihara was in Devil Mode, so of course the shot would be more violent than usual.

Ryoma glanced down at the ground, studying the mark left by Phantom Ball and silently calculating the angle of its bounce. When Kirihara used the Phantom ball again, he guarded his side. Just as before, the ball 'disappeared' from his sight, and instead of attacking his side, it hit him in the back instead.

The Seigaku captain realized that Kirihara could control the angle of the bounce freely, and frowned slightly to himself. He tried to analyse the shot in his mind. Kirihara had placed a spin on the ball which made it fly sharply to the side, creating an illusion that the ball had disappeared. He recalled that last year, Kevin Smith had encountered the same problem as well went he tried to return with a backhand.

It hit him then. That was right. This shot was a left-handed player's weakness, since to counter this shot, left-handed players would use a backhand, and the ball would dart to the side, out of their vision.

Before Kirihara used another Phantom Ball, Ryoma switched the racket to his right hand. Surprisingly, the Devil Kirihara didn't seem fazed at all as he hit the shot anyway, his sneer still intact on his face.

This round, Ryoma braced himself for the shot, waiting to hit it when it darted to the side. That opportunity never came, as instead, this Phantom Ball was a fake. The ball bounced off to the opposite side, now making it impossible for right-handed players to return.

"Yarou…" Ryoma's eyes blazed. He never liked his pride being challenged like that.

As Kirihara prepared for the next shot, Ryoma returned to contemplating once more. The Phantom Ball was a left-handed player's weakness. The fake Phantom Ball was a right handed player's weakness. In order to counter this…

Once more, he returned the racket to his left hand, using his motion vision to analyse Kirihara's shot. With that pose, and the spin Kirihara added to the ball, Ryoma knew that it was the real Phantom Ball Kirihara was using.

The minute Kirihara had hit the shot; Ryoma switched his racket instantly to his right hand instead and returned it cleanly over the net. The surprised Kirihara sprinted after it with his split step and used his skill again.

This time, Ryoma switched the racket to his left hand and returned the shot. "Mada mada dane." He smirked.

He had combined both his motion vision and his Nitouryu, defeating Kirihara's skill. As Kirihara made a return, Ryoma used his Drive B.

Kirihara activated Muga no Kyouchi at that moment, and used a Drive B to counter Ryoma's skill.

Just as Kirihara's Drive B hit the ground, Ryoma caught it at its second arc, and used a Twist Spin Smash to score.

"Game and match. Won by, Echizen. 7 games to 5!" The referee announced.

XXX

"Damn. I've lost to you again. You really are like those three Rikkai monsters." Kirihara muttered as they shook hands at the net.

Ryoma snorted. "I'm not like them. I'm _better_ than them." He corrected arrogantly.

Kirihara snorted. "As if. By the way, shouldn't you be meeting Tezuka-san? Who knows, if you're lucky there may be some mistletoe hanging over both your heads." The devil began sniggering, while Ryoma suppressed the urge to roll his eyes.

During the training camp, the younger Kirihara had the unfortunate chance of seeing both Tezuka and Ryoma kiss, and while the oblivious Rikkai Dai junior high captain had never found out about their relationship, he still found it amusing to rub in the fact that Ryoma had to kiss another male. Ryoma was tempted to enlighten him, but decided against it.

Just then, they heard a rather loud commotion over at one of the other courts.

"Omg…is that guy alright?"

"I don't think he can play again…he was beaten up so badly…"

"So scary…that Touyama had defeated him in 10 minutes flat."

Kirihara smirked at that. "Well. You might have won against me, but it looks like you'd be going against him again. Oh don't worry. Tezuka-san will pick up what's left of you, I guess."

Ryoma swallowed. There was no doubt they'd be facing _that_ school again during the finals. Would he be able to fill up the gap left by the lost of his Pinnacle of Perfection, especially when he faced that wild-type player again?

This round, even he couldn't predict the outcome of the finals.

::End of Nationals, Part One::

To be continued…

A/N: Yay! Finished this chapter! Finally.

Will start work on part two of the Nationals with every chance I get. Please be patient with me.

Also, for all those wondering about what Kirihara was saying, about the mistletoe and all, please refer to the chapters about the training camp- Chapters 21 and 22 of Life After Seigaku.

**Please Read and Review. No Flames Please.**

-Gwyn


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. If I did, I'd be the luckiest and happiest girl alive. Sadly, I don't.**

**Warning: May contain spoilers for the latest manga chapters. Shonen-ai fic**

**Pairings: Tezuka X Echizen, Momoshiro X Ann**

**(This chapter is followed by Chapter 24 in Life After Seigaku)**

A/N: Hola everyone! I'm back! Hopefully for real this round.

Do read the chapter of this fic first before the other one. Otherwise, there might be mild spoilers in it.

So sorry for the super belated update this round. The fics are no longer on hiatus. The next chapters should be up in under two weeks.

**jia**, **forgotten hyoshi, alaine,** thx for the review. So sorry for the wait.

**Akkadia**, no problem. Good luck with your fic.

**Maelyn**, sorry. Fuji and Atobe will not be paired up. They're both straight in this fic. (All the other regulars: "Yeah right…")XD

**Quill**, XD. Ah yes. Naughty naughty Tez and Ryo, running off by themselves when their teammates are slaving for the gold medal. Such fine examples on how a captain should behave, aren't they? Hmm…for Wolfram…the pink nightgown is just a hint that he might not necessarily be male. ::ahem:: (Wolfram: What do you mean by that, Gwynhafra?!)

To the story then…

**Echizen, Our Buchou**

By: Gwynhafra

Chapter 21 (Nationals, Part Two)

"Seishonen. Are you up yet?"

The day of the finals began with the bustle in the Echizen household. Nanako and Rinko were in the kitchens, preparing breakfast; Nanjirou had put on his best Hawaiian shirt and was waiting for his son to get down from his room.

Ryoma was the last occupant of the house to wake, though not the last to leave. The Seigaku captain flew down the stairs and jogged past his father, snagging a piece of bread as he went.

Nanjirou blinked. "Are? What's the rush, seishonen? I'm feeling kind enough to give you a lift today."

"Momo-senpai's already waiting for me outside." Ryoma said shortly as a matter of explanation. He snatched his tennis bag from where it rested and was out of the door in a flash.

His vice-captain had promised to meet up with him, partly because he happened to be going along the same road after a trip to Ann's, and partly because he wanted to make sure their captain wasn't tardy this round.

"About time, Echizen." Momoshiro gave a mock sigh of relief once the Seigaku captain jogged up to him.

Ryoma frowned. "I wasn't that late, Momo-senpai. In fact, there is a whole hour before registrations begin. Ohayou, Tachibana's little sister." Ryoma gave a nod to Ann, who was standing next to his vice-captain.

"Don't call her Tachibana's little sister. It's Ann. Such a pretty name, Ann." Momoshiro wrapped one arm around his girlfriend as he spoke.

Ann pinched him lightly on the arm. "You're embarrassing yourself, Takeshi." She chided.

"But I want the whole world to know your name. Ah! It's Tezuka-buchou!" Momoshiro pointed.

Ryoma gave a bratty smirk. "Don't call him Tezuka-buchou. It's Kunimitsu. Such a wonderful name, Kunimitsu." He imitated Momoshiro's tone.

Momoshiro shuddered. "There's no way I'm calling Tezuka-buchou by his name…"

"You two…" she sighed. Sometimes, she wondered if Tezuka felt the same way she did- dating someone so immature.

Tezuka finally reached their group and, after a brief exchange of greetings, walked alongside Ryoma.

All throughout the journey, the mismatched pairs contradicted each other. Momoshiro was flirting with his girlfriend, while Tezuka and Ryoma remained silent. Momoshiro had put an arm around Ann. Tezuka and Ryoma kept a small distance between each other as they walked, their hands not touching. Momoshiro was spouting words of romance, and nearly started speaking of the birds and the bees while he was at it. Tezuka had finally decided to engage Ryoma in a conversation consisting of short sentences, regarding something that was far from romance – tennis.

"Heh. So you've finally managed to master _that_ skill?" Ryoma asked.

"Aa." Tezuka affirmed.

Ryoma gave a small smirk. "Not bad, Kunimitsu. We're still early. Let's have a match. You can take it as warm-up practice."

"Aa. We'll tell Momoshiro about it first though." Tezuka said.

Ryoma turned to his best friend. "Ne, Momo-senpai…" His voice trailed off when he noticed that those two were in their own world.

"Forget it. Let's go, Kunimitsu. I don't think they'd notice even after we've left." Ryoma quickened his pace, and Tezuka followed, leaving the other two by themselves.

XXX

Now Ryoma saw the benefits of arriving early. He didn't need to rush, and had all the time in the world. He had a wonderful practice to get his adrenaline all pumped up. Also, he was able to enjoy his favourite Ponta while sitting next to his favourite person, all at his own leisurely pace.

He gave a contented sigh and stretched a little before leaning against the backrest of the bench. While they were happy with each other's presence, as the clock ticked by, they soon found the mood ruined- for members of the public and the other clubs were starting to arrive, and that day, being the finals, attracted a larger crowd than usual.

"Whoa! It's the Seigaku captain and the Kanto High captain. Suge! Probably the two best players in junior high and senior high respectively." Someone had not bothered to lower his voice.

"Seigaku and K-High? Then they're participants in the finals?" Someone else asked.

Ryoma calmly sipped on his Ponta, but a rather sarcastic remark had flown through his head. 'No. We're not participating in the finals. We're just in full uniform because it makes us look cool.'

"Those two will be going against Rikkai Dai senior high and Shitenhouji junior high. Will they be alright…?"

Ryoma was starting to get annoyed from all the staring. He finished his drink and got to his feet. "Let's go somewhere else, Kunimitsu."

"Aa." Tezuka kept his mineral water bottle in his bag and stood up too. They had barely left the bench when they noticed someone waving in a distance. Someone with red hair.

"Koshimae!!! Hey, Koshimae! Over here, over here!" That person had decided to announce his presence, as if his leopard-print shirt and all his waving wasn't attention catching enough already.

Ryoma twitched. The next moment, the Seigaku captain had taken a different route instead.

"Pretend you didn't hear anything, and quicken your pace." Ryoma muttered to Tezuka. Both of them started walking away quickly.

Touyama Kintarou, the one he really wished to avoid at all costs. Sadly, that was highly impossible, considering Kintarou was going to be competing in the finals as well.

The redheaded Shitenhouji captain didn't seem to take the hint though, as now he was racing after Ryoma. "Koshimae! Wait up!"

"Yadda!!!" Ryoma was running too, with Tezuka right next to him.

"Why? It's been a year since I last competed against you, and I can't wait to face you in the courts again. Let's have a round of practice!" The redheaded boy sounded excited.

"Yadda. I'll only play against you in the courts." Ryoma was now running like his life depended on it. Why on earth did the Shitenhouji captain have to be that fast!

Someone had walked past at that moment, and Kintarou was still in mid-run. Being unable to stop in time, Kintarou ended up meeting the guy in a head-on collision.

"Itai…I'm sorry…hey!" The next moment, the Shitenhouji captain was lifted up into the air by the front of his shirt.

"How dare you bump into me! Do you know who I am? I'm Akutsu. Akutsu Jin!" The former Yamabuki player growled.

"I already said I'm sorry, so you're supposed to let me go now." Kintarou reasoned.

Akutsu raised an eyebrow. "Haa? Who are you to order me around? Would you like me to pound your face in…"

The next moment, the tables were turned as Kintarou, now angered, grabbed Akutsu by the arm and threw him against the nearest tree. He marched up to the fallen boy and pointed at him. "How rude! Normally when someone says 'sorry', you're supposed to respond with 'it's alright'. Just where are your manners?"

Akutsu managed to get back to his feet painfully. "Stupid brat…"

Kintarou's eyes flashed. He served a shot, aiming for Akutsu's face.

The next moment, Ryoma too had served, hitting Kintarou's shot away. "Ne. By using violence against violence, you're no different from him. Also, you're a captain now, so you had better exercise more control over yourself, or you'll only give your team a bad name."

Kintarou seemed to have forgotten completely about his grudge against Akutsu when he realized the Seigaku captain had finally stopped in his tracks. Even if Ryoma wanted to escape, it was already too late as Kintarou had bounced up to him.

"Let's have a match, Koshimae!" The redhead said enthusiastically.

"You can have a match against this Koshimae person then. I'm not him." Ryoma said boredly.

"Oh yes you are, Koshimae. The one with three eyes, a body of steel, and fingers which will release deadly toxins!" Kintarou said insistently.

Ryoma looked mildly baffled. Tezuka blinked. What on earth was this boy talking about?

"Kintarou. He's the one with nerves of steel, is very cocky, and he'll stare down at you with the whites of his eyes. Goodness. You still haven't improved your Japanese yet if you've gotten Oshitari (Kenya)'s words all wrong." Shitenhouji high's captain had joined them.

Shiraishi tapped Kintarou on the head. "It's almost time for the registration, and all your team members are wondering where their captain has gone to. Shouldn't you be heading to the booth by now?"

Kintarou put on begging eyes as he faced his former captain. "But…but…Shiraishi, I want to play with Koshimae in a match." He whined.

Shiraishi sighed. "It's play _against_ Echizen in a match, not play _with_. He's not a toy for you to play _with_."

Ryoma shuddered visibly at the mental image. He inched closer to Tezuka, feeling safer if he was near his boyfriend.

Kintarou seemed to be having a slight argument with Shiraishi as the wild-type player stamped his feet on the ground. "I want to play with Echizen, and you're not going to stop me."

"No." Both Shiraishi and Tezuka spoke up.

The redhead turned his attention to the Kanto High captain, whose arms were folded in a manner suggesting he was greatly displeased with something or someone.

"We're returning to our respective teams for the registrations. You'll face him later during the matches." Tezuka said curtly.

Kintarou's face fell. "That's not fair. Shitenhouji is going to win the first three matches and I won't have the chance to face Koshimae anyway. I want to have a match with Koshimae. Don't worry. It'll only take 5 minutes to beat him so I won't be late for the registrations."

A vein popped in Ryoma's head. He didn't like his team's pride being trampled on, and he most certainly didn't like his pride being trampled on. "On second thought let me face him, buchou. I'll make him eat his words."

"No." Tezuka stated firmly, putting one hand on Ryoma's shoulder to keep him in place.

Before Kintarou could protest, Shiraishi had begun removing the bandages around his hand.

There was an immediate change with Kintarou's expressions, as he immediately backed as far as he could from his predecessor. "No! Not the poisonous hands! Anything but that!" There was obvious panic in his voice.

Shiraishi gave a smile. "So you understand what you should do now, don't you, Kintarou?"

"Hai! I'll be leaving right away!" Kintarou took off at a run. He turned back only to give a short wave to Ryoma. "I'll be seeing you later then, Koshimae!"

Shiraishi shook his head as he turned to the two captains. "So sorry about that. That guy is as difficult to control as ever. It's only a matter of time before this trick wears out." He indicated his bandaged hand.

Tezuka gave a slight bow. "I thank you for helping us with this."

"It's no problem. I've been his captain once so I do know how difficult it is to divert his attention once he has spotted a prey, or for this case, Echizen. That guy has been most eager to face you again since you defeated him last year." Shiraishi said, looking mildly sympathetic.

He straightened up. "I will take my leave now. Chitose and Tachibana had probably already reserved a seat for me. Good luck, you two."

After Shiraishi had left, both Ryoma and Tezuka made their way to the registration counter. This round, both senior high and junior high groups were registering at the same booth, since there were only four teams left.

"Hoi hoi! The both of you are finally here, and just in time." Kikumaru was the first to spot them.

Momoshiro marched up to Ryoma. "Echizen! How dare you just run off by yourself without informing me about it? Do you know how worried Ann and I were?"

Ryoma gave him a bored stare. "You looked like you were enjoying yourself, so I didn't want to disturb you." He said evilly.

Momoshiro turned a shade of red. He gave a cough and tried to divert the topic. "Ah. Well. Just glad that you made it on time. Let's head for the counter now. We're running late."

After both teams had confirmed their attendance, Tezuka led Ryoma aside.

"If that Kintarou tries to play dirty, make sure you send someone over to the senior high group. I'll be here right away." Tezuka said.

Ryoma frowned. "Yadda."

Before Tezuka could protest, Ryoma gave him a stubborn stare. "I'll defeat him with my own power."

"You don't have the Pinnacle of Perfection, and that guy is not at all like your other opponents. You can't afford to get careless." There was a hint of worry in Tezuka's usually serious voice.

Ryoma took Tezuka's hand briefly, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry. I won't let my guard down. Or do you not trust in my abilities?"

Seeing the strength in Ryoma's gaze, Tezuka relented. He sighed. "Very well then. Don't get hurt."

Ryoma gave a small smile. "Usu."

Both looked up when they heard the announcement for all the four participating teams to move to the stadium. The captains moved to join their respective teams. Before they did, however, Ryoma tapped Tezuka on the arm.

"Kunimitsu…don't lose. Okay?" Ryoma's golden gaze fixed on his brown ones.

"Aa." Tezuka gave his promise.

XXX

"How nice. Our seniors get to play in the stadium while we're having our match outside." Momoshiro sighed.

Itsuki gave a soft click of his tongue. "Think of it this way. At least we get fresh air." He said optimistically.

Kaidou hissed softly before turning to Momoshiro. "It's only courteous if we let senpai-tachi have the courts indoors, so stop your complaining, baka Momoshiro."

"What did you say, mamushi?!" The vice-captain was already rolling up his sleeves.

"Enough, both of you." Ryoma gave the command. He held out Kaidou's racket. "Kaidou-senpai. You'll be starting off the matches so do a quick warm up. Momo-senpai. You'll go with him."

"Why him/me?" Both of them protested at the same time.

Ryoma merely gave them a golden stare. They gave up on the idea of more questions and jogged off. Ryoma watched them go, smirking slightly. 'Because the both of you will be able to warm up in the shortest amount of time with your silly competitions. It's so convenient to have two bitter rivals sometimes.'

True enough, when they returned they looked like they had been playing a two-hour match, even though they had been gone for barely 10 minutes. Both were still in a glaring competition, and Ryoma wondered just what kind of a match they had.

Kaidou gave a soft hiss and made his way down to the courts. He knew that this match was very critical for them. As long as they can win the first match, they would have the advantage.

He stared at the other team. Their coach Osamu was giving his players some last minute bit of advice.

"It's finally time for the showdown against Seigaku again. First one up, our very own tensai Zaizen Hikaru-kun. Go all out, Zaizen-kun."

"Ne, Osamu. You don't have to make it sound like you're announcing for a circus." Kintarou complained, covering his ears as Osamu had been speaking rather loud, and right next to him.

Osamu wagged a finger in the air. "Not a circus, Kintarou-buchou. A zoo. Our doubles 3 opponent is well-known for being a snake. If you're not careful, you might get bitten, Zaizen-kun."

"I don't mind if I'm bitten." Zaizen spoke in a toneless voice. His team members were long used to his sarcasm, so they commented nothing about that. Instead, their attention was on their redheaded captain, who was bouncing up and down on the spot excitedly.

"Eh? That guy in the green bandanna is a snake? So he can turn into one anytime?" Kintarou asked excitedly.

Zaizen rolled his eyes at his super childish buchou with a super low IQ. "Of course he can turn into a snake, buchou. It's perfectly normal for people to start turning into animals." He said flatly.

"Really? Then why can't I turn into one?" Kintarou actually took him seriously. Good grief!

Osamu had to hide a chuckle. "Now now, Kintarou. Just watch the match."

The redhead nodded enthusiastically at that. "Okay! I'm sure I'll be able to see how he does that. Yo, Seigaku-san. Be sure to turn into a snake!"

"Who are you calling a snake?" Kaidou snarled.

"He's not snake. He's Mamushi." Momoshiro corrected Kintarou evilly.

"Do you want to fight?" Kaidou snarled.

"Bring it on!" Momoshiro looked like he was about to hop into the courts too.

"Enough, you two!" Ryoma ordered. He death glared the two seniors, while the other regulars had turned away, all wearing an expression suggesting they were in no way related to those two. Nope. They didn't know them at all.

"You're in a match now, Kaidou-senpai. Concentrate." Ryoma instructed.

Kaidou gave a hiss and turned back towards the net. Zaizen was standing at the other end, watching the proceedings with mild interest.

"What? Aren't you going to continue that fight? I don't mind at all, since that would mean it's my win." His words were very neutral, but there was something in that tone of his, something that made one wanted to seize the Shintenhouji tensai by the front of his shirt and throttle him. Kaidou gave another hiss, one which showed that he was not in a good mood, so Zaizen had better not try his temper.

Zaizen said nothing. Instead, he turned around and walked off, positioning himself for Kaidou's serve.

Kaidou didn't really know much about this guy. He recalled this guy was paired with Chitose in Doubles 1 last year, against Seigaku's Tezuka-Inui pair. However, Zaizen was ordered by his coach to serve and step back. It was Chitose who did most of the playing. Zaizen barely played at all, so his true strength was still a mystery.

Kaidou knew better than to take him lightly though. Tensai…that would put him in the same category as K-High's Fuji and Roshan High's Oshitari. He served, kicking off the match.

For the first game, Kaidou reserved his snake shots, preferring to draw the match out in a rally. Zaizen seemed quite contented with keeping it at a rally too, as he was giving off none of his skills. Well, if the tensai wanted to observe his skills he could go on waiting then. Kaidou would not lose if it was an endurance match anyway.

Zaizen seemed to think so too, for he began playing offensive. The tensai must have noticed that Kaidou's weakness was a short rally. If he scored quickly, Zaizen would have the advantage over Kaidou.

Kaidou decided to take the chance. He hit a snake shot, and the ball curved to the left before scoring.

Zaizen didn't seem too fazed by it. He glanced briefly at the spot where the ball had landed and turned his gaze back to Kaidou. "I was wondering when you'd be using that. It wouldn't do for you to not use your snake shot, since you're supposed to be the master at it."

Again, there was nothing wrong with his sentence. It was very neutral. It was the tone of his voice that made Kaidou see red. Was that guy born sarcastic?

"Fsssh!!!" Since that guy wanted to see the snake shot so badly, Kaidou would just let that snarky tensai see it until he was satisfied then. He hit continuous snakes, scoring one game.

"Sugoi! Kaidou-senpai has scored one game so soon!" Katsuo and Kachiro cheered.

Ryoma raised an eyebrow. "You think so? That was one of the messiest games I've ever seen him play."

"Aa. That guy is provoking Kaidou, and being very subtle about it at the same time. Well, it's all Mamushi's fault for having such a short fuse." Momoshiro snickered.

Zaizen was still observing Kaidou throughout the second game. Kaidou used his snake shots again, alternating between the normal snake shot, reverse snake and short snake to make sure Zaizen wouldn't be able to get a hold of the angle.

The tensai of Shitenhouji smirked slightly. Kaidou sure was making it difficult to score. Well, two can play that game. He too used a buggy whip shot in the next round.

"You will find that I am quite adept at hitting these shots, Kaidou-san. You're supposed to be the snake shot player. It wouldn't do if you were beaten at your own game now, would it?" Zaizen stated tonelessly.

Kaidou gave a loud hiss, veins popping in his head. He continued hitting his snake shots, even though Zaizen returned with the same shot, indicating that Kaidou's shots weren't effective on him. Even so, Kaidou was persistent in his attacks, not once changing to a different skill, throwing a head-on endurance challenge to Zaizen.

Katsuo and Kachiro clung on to Momoshiro's jersey. "K-Kaidou-senpai has gone mad…" Both of them wailed.

"Now that would be troublesome." Momoshiro muttered.

Zaizen knew that if this went on, he'd be the loser. When the Seigaku snake shot player got angry, his strength would spike too, making his shots stronger. There was no way the tensai's stamina would be able to beat Kaidou's.

At the next shot, Zaizen abandoned his snake shot challenge as he braced himself to return the ball. Right at the last moment, he gave a sharp slice to counter the spins in the snake shot.

Kaidou's eyes widened when the ball vanished from his sight. It reappeared somewhere to his left, but only the audience noticed that. Kaidou wasn't able to see it, since it was hidden in his blind spot.

"Game, Zaizen. 2 games to 1." Kaidou glanced around and only then did he see that the ball had rolled out of the courts.

Zaizen did that again, and this time, he targeted Kaidou's right. Again, with a slice, the ball vanished abruptly. The Shitenhouji player snorted. "What's this? Aren't you the snake shot player? Don't tell me you've never tried this skill before?" He asked flatly.

Momoshiro snorted from the sides. "What is that guy talking about? Isn't that something like Fuji-senpai's Invisible Serve? How on earth would Mamushi be able to use a skill like that?"

"Not really." Ryoma muttered, rubbing his eyes. He was literally the only person there, aside from the observant Takahiro, who could actually see the shot. "It was very, very fast, and the angle was very unpredictable, but it was a snake shot." He informed his teammates.

"Eh? That thing was a snake shot?" Tsun asked. They could barely see it, and it looked like a blur to them.

"When he did a slice on the ball, it tripled the existing spin Kaidou-senpai had placed on the ball, making the return extremely fast. Also, when he aimed for the right, of course, Kaidou-senpai would immediately turn to face that direction to return the shot. However, the ball would dart immediately to the left, towards Kaidou-senpai's blind spot, so that it looked like it had 'disappeared' from his sight. The same thing would happen if he aimed for the left. The ball would dart towards the right instead." Takahiro stated his observations.

"Invisible Snake. I think it'd be nice to give this skill that name." Zaizen declared. His voice was still devoid of emotions, even though he obviously had the upper hand.

A trickle of sweat ran down Kaidou's brow. Invisible Snake…this guy actually created a skill right in the middle of the match? No wonder he was a tensai.

Kaidou was no match for the Invisible Snake, and he was forced to give up his snake shots, knowing that once he created a chance for Zaizen to use that skill, he'd only be digging his own grave.

During the time-out, Kaidou gave a soft hiss of frustration. The others wisely kept out of his way, and Ryoma gave Momoshiro a pointed look to prevent the latter from making any comments which would cause Kaidou to erupt.

"That certainly is one difficult opponent, Kaidou. With your snake shots locked, you can no longer draw this into an endurance match." Ryusaki stated with her arms folded. She threw a glance at the other team, noting that their coach was now talking to Zaizen, a huge grin plastered on his face. Probably praising the tensai. However, Zaizen remained as unsmiling as ever. Kintarou might have been the reason for that though, as the redheaded Shitenhouji captain was whining loudly about not seeing Kaidou in 'snake-form' at all.

Ryusaki turned her attention back to Kaidou. "You're not going to take this lying down now, are you, Kaidou? Use that shot if you have to. Go all out."

Kaidou gave a hiss. "I will not lose. I made a promise that I wouldn't." He threw a very quick glare in Momoshiro's direction before tossing his towel aside and picking up his racket before heading back to the courts.

He glared at his opponent, who had a bored, nonchalant expression on his face. No matter what, he would beat this guy into the dirt.

In the next game, Kaidou drew it back into a rally, and Zaizen said nothing as he played along to humour him. When Zaizen hit a snake shot, Kaidou put all his strength into his return. "Don't underestimate Kaidou Kaoru!" He used the Tornado Snake, which spun around in loops before scoring.

Zaizen's eyes widened. So this was the Tornado Snake. He had seen this shot used against his two gay senpais (Hitouji and Konjiki) last year, but he didn't realize its powers were this scary. How could he return a shot with such a fast spin anyway?

A gyro spin. After the tensai observed a while, Zaizen realized it was a gyro spin Kaidou had placed on the ball to execute this skill. Such a scary person, Kaidou Kaoru.

With the Tornado Snake, Kaidou was able to score three games in rapid succession. He gave a hiss, throwing the challenge back to the tensai. There was no way Zaizen would be able to hit this shot. It required the arm's strength, and a hell lot of training to be able to do so.

Zaizen was now trying to return the Tornado Snake with the Invisible Snake, but a gyro spin was different from a snake shot's, with the spin being extremely fast and unpredictable. Zaizen's shots ended up spinning out of the courts.

Seigaku's supporters began to cheer. The Invisible Snake was defeated. "Three more shots! Three more shots!" They chanted.

Kaidou was only too happy to oblige. He'd get back at the sarcastic player for provoking him. Once more, he hit the Tornado Snake.

This round, Zaizen hit it with a normal return, much to Kaidou's surprise. The ball crossed the net and began to fall, and Kaidou rushed forward to return it.

The next moment, however, the ball had shot past Kaidou's ear, scoring a point.

"What?" Kaidou wondered aloud. One moment, the ball looked to be a distance away, but the next; it had already flown past him. Could a ball actually move that fast?

"That…that's Fuji-senpai's Dragonfly Illusion." Ryoma recognized the skill immediately. Taking advantage of the spins, Zaizen had nullified all the spins on the ball before returning it, giving the opponent the illusion that the ball was further than it actually was.

Kaidou's Tornado Snake was defeated. He narrowed his eyes as the next shot was flying to him again. He backed off and tried to hit it. This round, however, his eyes weren't playing tricks with him, for the ball really was at a distance.

"You don't think I'd use the same skill repeatedly, do you? That was very naïve of you, Kaidou-san." Zaizen stated.

"Don't joke with me!" Kaidou snarled. He couldn't see which was a normal shot and which was Dragonfly Illusion, for all the shots looked like they were at a distance to him. He decided to take his chances though, and managed to hit a few shots back.

After a while, he managed to figure out which shots were what, as he noticed how Zaizen moved his wrist. When Zaizen used Dragonfly Illusion, Kaidou hurriedly backed off a little before using a reverse snake.

Zaizen was caught off guard, not expecting Kaidou to be able to return the shot. Hastily, he tried to counter with Invisible Snake, but he fumbled a little and wasn't able to execute the shot perfectly.

Kaidou was able to see the shot now, and noticed that it had darted towards his left. With a roar, he dove after the ball and hit it back with all his might.

"He returned it!" Zaizen realized aloud, hurriedly moving to the front to intercept the shot.

The ball hit the net and spun there for a while. After a few moments, the ball fell to the ground harmlessly before rolling to a stop near Kaidou.

"Game and match. Won by, Zaizen. 7 games to 5." The scores were announced. Kaidou had lost the first match…

XXX

"Don't mind, Kaidou-senpai." Both Katsuo and Kachiro were trying to encourage Kaidou, but the snake-shot player gave a hiss, causing both of them to scurry off and hide behind Ryoma.

"You did a good job, Kaidou. Don't think too much about it." Itsuki at least had more luck in cheering Kaidou up. Then again, psychology was the third-year's strength anyway.

"I could not keep that promise. Sorry." Kaidou muttered.

Ryoma blinked. What promise?

Momoshiro gave Kaidou's shoulder a very brief pat. "Don't beat yourself up over it, Mamushi. That's supposed to be my job."

Kaidou reacted instantly over his nickname. "Do you want to fight, baka Momoshiro?"

"Bring it on!"

"Incredible, Kaidou-senpai has revived." Kachiro sounded amazed, watching as Ryusaki-sensei tried to prevent the two rivals from fighting.

"That's of course. Momo-fukubuchou is an expert at getting on Kaidou's nerves." Tsun stated.

Doubles 2 was called for, and both Kachiro and Katsuo got to their feet.

"Well. Wish us luck. We have a promise to fulfill too." Kachiro said.

"Good luck." Itsuki waved them off enthusiastically, ignoring Ryoma's questioning gaze.

Ryoma turned his gaze towards the courts. Those two would need a lot of luck indeed. Of all the regulars, these two had the least chances of winning, their skills paling in comparison to the Psycho Pair. He would have placed Takahiro in doubles, but the Chessmaster was more of a singles player than a doubles player. Ryoma decided to reserve Takahiro as a trump card. At least, should he lose to Kintarou…

Ryoma shook that thought out of his head. He would not even think about it. He wouldn't lose, no matter what.

Oh well, he wished for the best. Hopefully these two would be able to catch up with Shitenhouji, since they had lost the first game.

Kachiro and Katsuo could feel the pressure bearing down on them. They knew everyone would be placing a lot of hope in their match, and the tension was thick in the air. In fact, they could have sworn that the tension had just gotten up a notch when their opponents stepped into the courts, for they soon found themselves facing two hulking sophomores.

The sophomore pair had grown taller over the year as compared to their chibi sizes last year. However, they dwarfed before the two tall Shitenhouji players.

Both Shitenhouji players stared down at the two, making them feel incredibly small. As they walked to the net, Kachiro was visibly suppressing the urge to hide behind Katsuo, who at least was taller than he was.

They shook hands. The Shitenhouji players gave a slight smirk as they tightened their grip, and when they released their handshakes, Katsuo and Kachiro were seen massaging their hands to ease the aches.

Having never seen these two Shitenhouji regulars in action before, the Seigaku pair knew that they'd have to observe first before they could really kick off the game. Kachiro served.

They soon saw what their two opponents' abilities were, for wherever they hit the ball to, the two Shitenhouji players were able to return it. Their defence was flawless!

"So…what do you think?" Momoshiro asked his captain.

Ryoma frowned. He knew that they were both at a severe disadvantage, but he didn't expect it to be so one-sided. "Those two are tall. Very tall. Lobs will not work because they seem to have jump power too. Also…they seem to play mainly defence. Unless Kachiro and Katsuo find a weakness somewhere, they won't be able to score at all."

At the moment, the two couldn't help wishing they were the data pair instead. They couldn't find any loopholes. The cooperation between the Shitenhouji pair was excellent. When one moved the other would cover for him. They seemed quite contented with preventing Kachiro and Katsuo from scoring, not really doing much attacks.

Needless to say, both Kachiro and Katsuo, who were already under so much pressure, were getting careless when they started to panic. Even when the opponents maintained such a passive playstyle, they were still able to score when Seigaku's sophomore pair made one too many mistakes.

"Whoa! Those two sure are our defence specialists. Win this match!" Kintarou was bouncing on the spot happily.

"They are not called the Two Towers for nothing." Osamu mentioned.

The Shitenhouji pair had a headstart, 3 games to 0. Even after 3 games, Katsuo and Kachiro were not able to find any weaknesses.

'This is bad. We made a promise to Momo-chan fukubuchou…if we lose…what he's been fearing will come true. We can't afford to lose…I don't want to…' Katsuo's thoughts trailed off when he spotted Ryoma at the sides, holding a flask of very suspicious looking juice and jiggling it slightly. When Ryoma caught his eye, the captain gave him a smirk. The message was quite clear.

Kachiro seemed to have noticed it too, and both of them gulped. If they lose, the fate in store for them was far worse than death.

"I don't want to die!" Both of them underwent a 360 degrees change now that they were in panic-mode, playing like mini demons on the courts.

Seemingly noticing their drastic change in playstyle, the Two Towers exchanged looks. Currently, both Katsuo and Kachiro's speed and power have increased. However, from the information gathered by scouts, these two would lose their cooperation, as now they would be more of Singles players in this mode.

This would be to their advantage then. It was difficult enough for the Seigaku pair to break through their defences in Doubles. They didn't stand a chance at all if their formations have all gone down the drain.

The taller one of the two Shitenhouji players hit a lob over both their heads. Katsuo did a smash, and the shorter of the Two Towers moved to intercept, hitting the shot over to the space which was unguarded by Katsuo, who was still in mid-air. To his surprise, Kachiro was already there, returning it with a drop shot.

Even as the opponents moved forward to return the drop shot, Katsuo was already before the net, ready to hit any returns back to them.

The two Shitenhouji players scowled. The scout who mentioned that the Seigaku players' cooperation would deteriorate should be killed by a tennis ball to the head. Whoever said that those two would play like in Singles? Quite the contrary, actually, for their cooperation seemed to have improved instead!

"It doesn't matter. We'll maintain our defence. They're hardly able to score against us anyway…though why are they both yelling like that…" The taller one wondered aloud.

"Okaa-san!!!" Kachiro seemed to be using powered shots. He had accidentally caught sight of Ryoma adding his own ingredients into the 'suspicious looking' flask earlier on and his mind had flown off in fright, leaving him to play by instincts.

It was an ongoing rally now, seemingly one which wouldn't be ending anytime soon. Somehow, the juice served as a very good 'motivator', considering those two were stuck just hitting the ball two and fro for nearly two hours, and neither of them showed any signs of fatigue yet.

It was only a matter of time. Which side would fall first? Would the Two Towers be able to maintain their defence and win the game, or would the mini demons break through and score?

Considering the Seigaku pair was doing more running around, and the Two Towers had hardly moved, of course, everyone felt that the game was in the latter's favour.

That was, until the shorter of the Two Towers accidentally moved to the net right when Katsuo had used a power shot, and he received a direct hit to the head.

"Ouch. Headshot…" Momoshiro winced.

The poor victim keeled on the spot for a while. He swayed dangerously for a moment before falling flat on his face.

Everyone had gone silent.

"O…oi…are you alright? Oi…" Katsuo called out to him, though he didn't receive any replies.

The referee checked the player and shook his head. The poor guy was completely knocked out. There was no way he could continue on with the match.

"Shitenhouji is unable to continue on with the match. The match goes to Seigaku." The referee announced.

Cheers rang through the courts once everyone had gotten over the surprise of this unexpected win. Unfortunately Kachiro and Katsuo still hasn't recovered yet.

"We won…just like that…we won?" They were left blinking on the courts.

XXX

Once Kachiro and Katsuo had returned to their teammates, those two fell dead asleep on the seats, finally succumbing to exhaustion.

Even as the two were snoring away, Momoshiro was preparing for his match. After he checked his shoelaces, he stood up, waiting for the referee to call the players into the courts.

"Mada mada dane, Momo-senpai. Don't let your guard down." Ryoma muttered.

Momoshiro made a face. That line just didn't sound the same if it was Echizen saying it. It didn't have that strong of an effect, and even sounded a little comical. Still, it was Ryoma's way of encouraging him, he supposed.

"Momo-fukubuchou. Ganbatte!" A lot of the club members were cheering once Momoshiro took off his jersey and picked up his racket.

"Wait for the good news, minna." He grinned. Already his adrenaline was pumping in his veins.

He watched as his opponent, a rather hulking third year, walked into the courts. Ryusaki-sensei and Echizen had both placed him in Singles 2 for one reason—because the opponent was a power player. How long had he actually had a power match? He could no longer recall, but he looked forward to starting the game. He wondered what the true extent of his strength was now, and he couldn't wait to compare it with the opponent's.

"Best of one set match. Seigaku's Momoshiro to serve." The referee announced.

"Let's go!" Momoshiro used his Bullet Serve. He observed as the opponent moved to return it. The Shitenhouji player returned the serve easily, as if it had barely any power in it. Momoshiro frowned. He decided to power his shot a little bit more, just to test the extent of his opponent's strength. Again, the shot was returned with ease. In fact, the opponent looked like he was just swatting flies.

"Mattaku…is this guy just like Taka-san? You can't have that na, you can't have that yo." Momoshiro used the Jackknife. This was one of his more powerful attacks. Even if the guy was the hulk himself, he'd have to use both hands to return it.

The Shitenhouji player calmly switched his racket to his left hand, then hit it back single-handedly with such force, Momoshiro gave a yelp and ducked. The ball shot past where his head had been, and there was a metallic clink as the ball made contact with the fence. To Momoshiro's horror, the ball tore through the fence like it was made of paper, and Momo was left staring at a tennis ball shaped hole.

"Ah…that was dangerous, that was dangerous." Momoshiro muttered. He turned back to the opponent. So this guy was a left hander, yet his right hand could match up to even Momo's Bullet Serve. Maybe this guy was ambidextrous, just like Echizen?

He decided it wouldn't harm for him to observe a while longer. Just a little while longer would do.

Again, he used the Bullet Serve, and needless to say, with the guy's left hand, he returned the serve with barely much effort, and Momo's racket was knocked out of his hands when he tried to return it.

"Game. Ryoku. 1 game to 0. Change court." The referee announced.

As they walked to their respective sides, Momo heard a snicker from Ryoku as he brushed past.

"What's so funny?" Momoshiro demanded.

The guy stared down at Momoshiro from the corner of his eyes. "You're Seigaku's power player? Nothing but child's play. I suggest you pick up your pace. I'm getting bored."

Momoshiro frowned. Such arrogance. Without a word, he continued on to his side of the courts, not taking the bait. 'Calm down, calm down. You're the vice-captain. You have to set an example to the juniors.' Momoshiro repeated in his head again and again.

Now it was Ryoku's serve. He threw the ball up into the air, and gave a powerful smash when he served. Momoshiro's eyes widened as the ball streaked past him, scoring a no touch ace.

"Such speed…" Momoshiro wondered aloud. He turned back to the opponent, who smirked.

"Meteor Serve. Blink and you'll miss it." The Shitenhouji player declared.

With the serve, Ryoku scored another game, all with no touch aces.

"This doesn't look good at all for Momo-chan fukubuchou…Echizen-buchou. What do we do?" Horio asked, looking worried.

Ryoma said nothing, his expression solemn. "We wait." He said simply.

"Wait?! There's no way Momo-chan fukubuchou can win this without breaking through the guy's service games. Also, that guy is not doing any lobs. There is no way Momo-chan fukubuchou can use his dunk smash."

Ryoma said nothing, concentrating on the game instead. Momoshiro had now led the guy into a rally, and the opponent seemed contented in just hitting returns. In a power rally, Momo would be the one losing anyway.

Apparently Momo thought so too. He didn't just use powered shots. Occasionally, at unexpected times, he tried to catch the opponent off guard with snake shots.

"How sneaky. Trying to trick me into hitting a lob? That wouldn't work at all." He smirked, hitting the ball back as a normal return.

Momo took the chance to hit a power shot, but the opponent caught the ball anyway, even though he was right at the net.

"I see. You were trying to make me come to the net, so that the force of your shot is at its strongest. Against most other power players, that might have worked. Sadly, not for me." He returned it to Momo, who once more returned to hitting snake shots all over the courts again.

The opponent wasn't fazed. Momoshiro must have been getting desperate if he had turned to using his teammate's skills.

It didn't matter though. In a power match, he would win eventually. He maintained his power shots.

Momoshiro's racket kept flying out of his hands, and Ryoku scored another game. Horio was now bordering on hysterical.

Ryoma gave a sigh. Turning to the courts, he raised his voice. "Momo-senpai. Could you quit fooling around already? Horio looks like he's going to faint any moment."

Momoshiro gave a sheepish laugh. "Is that so? Sorry, sorry." He turned to his opponent. "Now then. Let's get serious." He reached towards his wrists, and removed the lead from his wristbands.

"Power wrist?" So Momoshiro wasn't going all out at all? The opponent gritted his teeth as Momoshiro carelessly tossed the lead aside and turned back to him. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Let's continue this." Momoshiro said calmly.

Momoshiro definitely was playing at 100 percent of his strength now. In the next rally, not one of the opponent's shots managed to knock the racket out of his hands. They were evenly matched now.

Or at least, that was what Ryoku thought. Momoshiro knew better though. In actual fact, Ryoku was the stronger power player, having greater strength than Momoshiro did. He had to thank the Mamushi's snake shots for helping to drain the opponent's strength so rapidly. (Not that Momoshiro would actually thank Kaidou out loud). The snake shot made the opponent run around the courts to return the shots, and he had to bend over repeatedly, since the snake shot always ended up below knee level.

Also, the opponent had been right about Momoshiro attempting to lure him to the net, and he was also correct in guessing that Momo had wanted the shots to be more powerful when the opponent had to return them so near the net. He, however, failed to see why. Momoshiro knew that Ryoku would have to use his full strength to return those powered shots, and considering he was returning each of them with a backhand, it was all the more taxing on his energy reserves.

Momoshiro wiped sweat from his forehead. This guy was a scary player though. To think he had to drain him of _that_ much strength before he could play on par with his powered shots.

Momoshiro won the next game. It was back to Ryoku's serve, and again, he used his Meteor Serve. Ryoku smirked. It didn't matter. As long as he could keep his service games, Momo had no chance of winning at all. Seigaku's vice captain wouldn't be able to see where the ball would land, so how could he return it.

Apparently he was mistaken again, for this round, Momo was already waiting at the spot even before the ball landed. Using a power shot, Momo returned the ball, causing it to streak past the net.

Ryoku still hadn't gotten used to the drastic change in Momoshiro's playstyle. One moment he was winning, and the next moment Momoshiro was catching up rapidly instead.

It didn't matter. He still had enough strength left anyway. He gripped his racket with both hands and hit another powered shot.

Momoshiro was a few steps ahead of him again, seemingly predicting where the ball was heading. How did he do that anyway?

Instead of hitting the ball back, however, Momoshiro sidestepped, allowing the ball to pass. It landed out of the courts.

"Out! Game, Momoshiro. 3 games all." The referee announced again.

"My my. I haven't seen that skill in a while." Ryoma chuckled lightly.

It didn't matter where the opponent had hit the ball to, Momoshiro would always be a few steps ahead of him, waiting for the shot even before it had reached him.

"This would be Momo-senpai's strongest skill. Prediction." Ryoma told the confused sophomore pair.

Ryoma turned back to the match. "As you know, Momo-senpai has very strong insight. He takes in the condition of his surroundings and uses it to his benefit. Also, with Prediction, he takes in the opponent's condition, playstyle, habits and he is able to 'predict' the opponent's shots. He will know where the opponent will be hitting the shots to."

Ryoma observed the match a little longer and gave a soft snort of laughter. "Definitely Seigake's rascal." He muttered.

"What? Echizen-buchou, why did you say that?" Horio asked.

"He's not just using his predictions. Look carefully." He instructed.

They were at a power rally again. However, this round Momoshiro was controlling his strength. At times his shots were powered, at times the power was reduced a little. The opponent, on the other hand was hitting all shots back at full power. A few times both of them had to take a short time-out to change their rackets, for the strings kept breaking.

The opponent was rapidly losing strength, and now Momoshiro's powered shots were stronger. Both of them were now down to their last racket. If the strings on their current rackets broke, they would have run out of spares.

Momoshiro hoped that his racket would last. Worst came to worst, he'd just borrow the captain's racket. That thought made him chuckle slightly.

"I'll bet everything on this shot!" Momoshiro fired a Bullet Serve.

The opponent switched the racket to his right hand, returning the shot. His left hand was tired, and he decided that his right hand was more than enough to handle Momoshiro.

It seemed that Momoshiro had finally given up on a power rally, for he was back to using snake shots.

"It won't let you score!" Ryoku hit it back with all his strength. It was only then he realized he had fallen into the Seigaku trickster's trap, for he had accidentally hit a lob.

"I have waited long enough!" Momoshiro leapt into the air.

"It has appeared! Dunk Smash!" The sophomore pair cheered.

Momoshiro smashed. Ryoku hurried to return it the moment it bounced up. However, the ball remained on the ground, not bouncing back up at all.

Just when Ryoku thought that it wasn't going to bounce back up at all, the ball shot up, narrowly missing his leg.

"Dun!" Momoshiro pointed at him, just as the referee announced the scores (6-3) and the crowd cheered.

"That wasn't the Dunk Smash. It has appeared, Super Momo-chan's Special…" The sophomore pair turned red in the face. "It's still embarrassing no matter how many times you say it…" They muttered.

XXX

"It's up to us now. Let's finish this and keep that promise. Wish us luck, Haruka-chan!" Itsuki said optimistically.

The Chessmaster frowned when Itsuki ruffled his hair. "Baka oni-chan."

Katsuo and Kachiro were awakened from their short nap thanks to the cheers which had followed Momoshiro's victory, and now both were cheering on the Psycho Pair. "Ganbatte, senpai-tachi."

"We'll win this! Let's go, Minori!" With how enthusiastic he was being, he looked like he was heading for a theme park instead of the tennis courts.

"It's finally our Psycho Pair. With any luck, they will be able to win this and we won't need Singles 1 at all." Momoshiro muttered.

Everyone nodded at that. They glanced over at Shitenhouji's side, where the coach and the captain were talking to their doubles 1 representative. The coach was speaking to them softly, while their captain was bouncing on the spot like a little child, his voice audible even from where the Seigaku regulars were standing.

"Make sure you win this match. I wanna play with Koshimae! I wanna play with Koshimae!" He pumped a fist into the air as he cheered.

Ryoma had a very strong urge to take refuge with his high school seniors. He was pretty sure his Doubles 1 could handle themselves anyway. He shook that thought out of his head soon enough though. What was he thinking? He was captain, and this was the finals. No matter what, he would not be so irresponsible as to sneak off during the matches.

He turned to the courts. The psycho pair shook the Shitenhouji pair's hands, and the game began.

Itsuki was zipping around the courts at full speed, catching the shots and returning them with ease. The shots that managed to slip past Itsuki were all handled by Tsun, since he was Seigaku's defence specialist.

Itsuki knew that his best friend's greatest weakness was offensive, and made it so that Tsun didn't need to come to the net. Tsun knew that Itsuki was more adept at offensive than at defensive, so he covered for Itsuki's back, allowing his doubles partner to concentrate on his mind tricks instead.

"Gotcha there. Didn't see that coming did you?" Itsuki grinned. He had managed to trick one of the Shitenhouji pair to hit a lob, and he scored with a smash.

Skill-wise, both sides were equal. Formation and combination-wise, the Psycho Pair had the upper hand. Both of them were already so familiar with each other's skills and weaknesses, they made sure to create chance balls for each other, and at the same time they covered for each other, so that their weaknesses would not be exploited.

The opponents noted that. They could never lure Tsun to the net, for Itsuki would be before it first, and he hit returns so fast they were forced to play offensive. If they played offensive with the intentions of forcing Itsuki into playing defensive, the smiling half of the psycho pair used that to his advantage by being the bait and luring their shots to Tsun instead.

By the time the Shitenhouji pair realized they were playing right into the Psycho Pair's hands, it was already 4 games to 1, with Seigaku leading.

"Kuso…is there no way to break through their formations?" Hako, one of the two doubles players asked, wiping his chin.

He turned to his doubles partner. "You still can't find a weakness, Seika? You're supposed to be our club's hawk, with those scary observation skills and accuracy of yours."

Seika readjusted the strings of his rackets quietly. After a while, he finally spoke up. "The speedy, happy-go-lucky one is game maker. He's the one covering for most of the shots, and he's the one spotting our weaknesses and passing the message to his doubles partner. If we could somehow slow him down, this game is ours. Remember, it doesn't matter how you play the game. All that matters is if you win or lose."

"It's supposed to be the other way around, Seika." His doubles partner muttered with a sigh. "You're going to do something that would make coach angry again, aren't you?" He sighed again. There was no way he could stop him anyway. Seika was a very stubborn person. Once he has made his mind up, no one can stop him.

"It's all for the sake of victory. That's all there is to it. I'm sure Touyama-buchou would agree." Seika was quiet again, indicating that the conversation was over. He served, kicking off another rally.

In this round, Seika came to the net, challenging speedy Itsuki to an offensive rally. The optimistic player remained smiling, but Seika knew that he was being studied.

Using his observations, he realized that the key to Itsuki's speed was that he barely allowed both feet to remain on the ground for long. Once one foot was on the ground, the other would already be lifted off in the beginnings of a dash, which gave him a faster reaction time than if he had allowed both feet to remain on the ground before he started running.

Seika snorted. Itsuki probably learnt this after all the times of studying that scary Seigaku captain's one foot split step, and created his own version of a step. Nowhere near as refined as the split step, but nonetheless effective.

However, unlike the one foot split step, which had a rather good balance. This step could throw Itsuki off balance very easily, especially if he mis-stepped in the wrong direction. Seika could only guess the reason as to why Itsuki hadn't lost his balance so far. The speedy player had good analytical skills, and was able to predict, or at least make wild guesses as to where the opponent would be moving to next, and therefore he wouldn't be stepping in the wrong direction.

Besides, even if Itsuki went the wrong direction, he had his doubles partner to cover for him anyway. The Psycho Pair was far more reckless than he thought to go with such risky formations.

Itsuki managed to return one particularly nasty shot Hako had hit over, and again he was using that step of his. Seika watched as Itsuki lifted one foot off the ground as he began a dash. He had only gone two steps when Seika used his wrist to give the ball a quick flick, aiming directly for Itsuki's shin, at the joint, right when one foot was lifted up and the other foot was just put down--when his balance was most vulnerable.

The ball struck its target, and Itsuki gave a yelp of pain as he lost his balance, collapsing to the ground. All of it happened so fast that to all the other spectators, unless they had very good eyesight, it merely looked like Itsuki had tripped over the tennis ball and had stumbled.

Tsun was next to his best friend in moments. "Keita! Are you alright?"

The optimistic player didn't lose his smile even one bit as he got back on his feet. "Ahaha! Don't worry about me. Just tripped a bit there. Silly me." The speedy player's eyes fixed briefly on Seika for a moment, but otherwise he said nothing more.

Itsuki put pressure on his foot, as if testing the extent of his injuries. He seemed thoughtful for a while, though his face still had that same, reassuring smile. Seika understood at that moment just why this player was Seigaku's morale booster. Even if there was something wrong, he could very well convince you of the opposite, with how he carried himself and how he always seemed so confident and so reassuring.

Seika made a brief debate on whether he should injure the other foot as well. He decided to reserve that for a little while. Time to check out his handiwork. It would be a ticking time bomb for Itsuki to use that nasty little step of his again, since by shifting the weight from foot to foot, it was only going to burden his injured limb.

Seika smirked. There was no way Itsuki would be able to speed around like he did earlier on. With him slowed, he wouldn't be able to cover the net as effectively, and Tsun would be forced to leave his position. The plan was perfect.

To his surprise, Itsuki had become, if anything, even more aggressive than before. Seemingly seized by sheer determination to finish the game quickly, he remained speeding around, now returning the shots madly.

"Itsuki-senpai! Stop it!" Takahiro yelled from the sides. The Chessmaster's eyes were fixed on the injured limb. Seika gave a soft 'ch'. Were Seigaku's players this observant?

Ryoma looked murderous, his arms crossed and his mouth set into a frown. He shot a look at the other Shitenhouji players. Only the coach seemed displeased by his player's actions. The others either hadn't noticed or had blissfully ignored that little accident. It was falling in their favour anyway.

Itsuki was putting in his best effort, though his leg could not keep up. Already, he had to slow down as it was taking a toll on him every time he put pressure on his injured leg. As Seika predicted, Tsun had no choice but to go to the net too since Itsuki could no longer cover that area, but once he did, his defences were broken through.

Shitenhouji won the match as Itsuki's foot finally gave out on him, and Seigaku had to forfeit the match at Tsun, Ryusaki and Ryoma's insistence.

When Seika returned to the Shitenhouji players, Osamu stared calmly up at him. "Seika-kun. Do you have anything to feel proud of? What you have done?"

Seika shrugged. "Injuries on the courts happen all the time, coach. They injured one of our players, so we're only returning the favour."

"Aha! I knew my eyes were not playing tricks on me! That was such an awesome shot to the shin. Such accuracy!" Kintarou punched a hand into the air.

The rest merely exchanged looks. They did not see anything. Was that what really happened?

Osamu frowned slightly. "Kintarou. This isn't something you should be awed about." He chided the childish captain before turning back to Seika. "There is a difference between injuries on the courts inflicted by accidents, and those inflicted deliberately. What happened to our player was the former. What you did to that Seigaku regular was the latter. If that was your reply to my question, then I'm afraid I'd have to kick you off the regulars after this. Is that clear?"

Seika swallowed. He knew that the coach would be mad, but he didn't realize the coach would be _that_ mad. "I understand."

Meanwhile, at the Seigaku regulars' side, Itsuki was being tended to by the coach, who was checking for signs of dislocation.

"Doesn't seem serious. All of you can wipe that look off your faces. He's not dying." Ryusaki said, amused.

"Thank goodness." Tsun sounded relieved.

Takahiro gave a narrative of what he had seen, and the other regulars scowled at the Shitenhouji players. "Those scums were probably intimidated by senpai-tachi's skills, and they had to use dirty tactics against Itsuki-senpai." Anger was written all over the usually expressionless Chessmaster's face.

Itsuki blinked. The next moment, he was ruffling Takahiro's hair like mad. "Hah! You were worried for onii-chan, weren't you, Haruka-chan? In fact, I'm so happy that you're so concerned. You've even called me Itsuki-senpai instead of your usual 'baka' or 'oni-chan'." He was grinning despite the injury.

That seemed to have gotten Takahiro back to his senses as he looked embarrassed. "Who's worried? Baka oni-chan." He muttered.

Tsun turned to Momoshiro. "So sorry. We weren't able to keep that promise after all."

"What promise?!" Ryoma scowled. Why did it seem that Momoshiro and the others knew something when even he, the captain, didn't know?

All of them exchanged looks. "Er…" Tsun trailed off.

"Gomen, Echizen…but..er…don't be angry if you hear this…we sort of found out that you don't have the Pinnacle of Perfection anymore."

Ryoma blinked. His gaze was questioning, and all of them shuffled on their feet awkwardly.

"I heard you and Tezuka-buchou talking this morning, when both of you were having your morning practice. I was on my way to the gents when I decided to watch your match. After hearing Tezuka-buchou ask whether you've gotten your Ten'i Muhou back, and seeing you shake your head, I went off and informed Momo-chan fukubuchou." Kachiro's voice trailed off at Ryoma's glare.

Tsun held up his hands in a pacifying gesture. "Calm down. He had not meant any harm. Anyway, we all made a promise with fukubuchou, that no matter what, we will do our best to win our matches, and you wouldn't have to play in Singles 1."

Ryoma sighed. He wasn't actually angry. He had hoped for them to not find out about it, but since they did…there was nothing he could do anyway.

"You don't have to worry. I can beat him even without the Pinnacle of Perfection." He stated arrogantly. He watched as the red headed Shintenhouji captain bounced into the courts and picked up his racket too, heading for his match. "Arigatou. Minna." He said, feeling grateful over his teammates' concerns.

"Be careful, Echizen." Momoshiro held out a fist. Ryoma punched his fist against it lightly. "That's of course. Mada mada dane."

Even as Ryoma stepped out to the courts, he could hear his teammates doing the Seigaku cheer behind him. It didn't matter if he would win or lose. Whatever it was, he was going to put up a hell of a fight.

XXX

"Koshimae! So we are able to meet on the courts after all! Yay! Yay! Yay!" Kintarou bounced on the spot excitedly.

Ryoma couldn't share his enthusiasm. Already, the Seigaku captain was running a few skills in his mind, wondering which of them could be used against this wild-type player. From past experience, he knew that this guy was _very_ hard to defeat, even though the last time he had been playing against him while he was 'awakened'. Would he even manage to get a score from him this round now that he no longer had that skill?

Kintarou was still bouncing on the spot excitedly. "I can't wait! The last time you sliced the tennis ball into half! Show me that skill again!"

Ryoma winced. When he did that the last time, he was using the Pinnacle of Perfection. "Yadda. Let's begin the match." He walked away from the net, ignoring Kintarou's whines. "Ceh…you're no fun." Kintarou sounded disappointed.

It was Ryoma's serve, and he started the game with his Twist Serve. Kintarou returned it so fast that it was only thanks to Ryoma's one-foot split step that he could actually catch up with it. The next moment, Kintarou had used a little acrobatic stunt and returned the shot. It had happened so fast that even Ryoma did not have time to react.

"15-0." The referee announced.

Needless to say, the Seigaku regulars weren't the only ones who had gone silent. The audience had been stunned too.

"…That guy scored…and the game hasn't even started for 3 minutes…" Momoshiro muttered.

Horio gave a very loud exclamation at that. "How is that possible? This is Echizen-buchou we're talking about. How could the opponent score in under 3 minutes?"

"That guy is around Echizen's level. No. That guy is more powerful in the sense that his normal shots were on par with Echizen's Muga no Kyouchi last year. I daresay he'd have improved this year." Momoshiro glanced up at the sky. For some reason dark clouds were gathering overhead, bringing about the promise of rain when it had been hot and sunny the whole day. He had a bad feeling about this.

Even Ryoma was taken aback slightly by the shot. That wild type was already nimble enough as it was. Now his reflexes seemed to have improved further.

He was very obviously on the losing edge. He used Drive A, and Kintarou returned it easily. Next, he used sliding before he used his Drive B, and when Kintarou countered it, he used Drive D instead. The wild type leapt into the air, firing a smash, which Ryoma countered with Higuma Otoshi, and the next moment, the shot bounced past Ryoma's foot before he even had time to recover from using the counter.

This match was quickly, and very obviously, becoming very one-sided. Kintarou was scoring so fast, Ryoma doubted it would even be enough of a warm-up for either of them. None of Ryoma's skills were working. His speed obviously couldn't match that of the wild type, and his stamina could not be compared to Kintarou's either. Heck, even Kaidou's stamina paled in comparison to Kintarou's, for the Shitenhouji player was known for his unlimited stamina.

"Aa-aa. Boring…I don't even feel like playing anymore. Koshimae, what's wrong with you? Use your Muga no Kyouchi!" Kintarou waved his racket.

"Yadda." Ryoma served again. Not that another round would actually improve anything. It was still one-sided. Ryoma stumbled while trying to save a shot, and while he did manage to hit it over the net, he had also managed to fall flat on his face.

Kintarou scored anyway. "Not a bad save. Pity it's not enough." Kintarou grinned.

Ryoma was seething. 'Yarou…' he thought, gritting his teeth.

There were a lot of whisperings going on around the courts. Momoshiro resisted the urge to bite his nails. He was getting worried just watching the match. "It's just as I feared. Even Echizen has no idea how to defeat him, and now Echizen is literally throwing everything he's got at Kintarou."

The spectators were now doing their own speculations as to what has happened to supposedly _the_ junior high tennis player. Some of the more negative comments were spoken so loud that it was all Ryoma could do to not show his fury on his face. The nerve of those people, speculating that he must have cheated in the matches last year. He would not forgive himself if he lost. The best junior high player, losing 6-0 without being able to even put up much of a fight. That would definitely make it to the front page of the Tennis Monthly, and Ryoma's pride would be severely destroyed.

With that, Ryoma decided to increase his offensive attack. Kintarou noticed the sudden change in attitude, and he grinned. "That's more like it." Ryoma's speed and power had increased, and Kintarou looked like he was enjoying it, even if only a little.

Ryoma's expression indicated that he was out to kill. When Kintarou lobbed, Ryoma smashed back, and the shot rolled on the ground without bouncing.

"It has appeared! Cool Drive!" Momoshiro sounded relieved, for Kintarou had been unable to return that shot.

"Cool Drive? Sugoi! You've actually learnt a skill like that?" Kintarou sounded excited.

"Cool Drive? That wasn't Cool Drive. That was Drive C. It has 3 times…no…5 times less than the amount of spin in Cool Drive." Ryoma stated.

Kintarou grinned. "If you're playing seriously then I should play seriously too. I shouldn't underestimate you." There was a burst of aura around Kintarou as he went into the state of self-actualization. The smile was wiped off Kintarou's face. By 'awakening', his childish side disappeared, while his wild side became stronger.

It began raining. As the water droplets began to descend, umbrellas could be seen raised into the air as the spectators opened them. All the Seigaku members too shielded themselves from the rain. All except Momoshiro, for the vice-captain had gallantly lent his umbrella to Ryusaki-sensei.

He realized that someone had held an umbrella over his head, and looked down to see Ann smiling at him. "You're a lifesaver!" He gave his girlfriend a hug before taking the umbrella. It was better if he held it since he was taller.

Ann glanced over at the courts. "How are the scores?" She asked.

Momoshiro shook his head. "Not good. It's 4 games to 0. Echizen wasn't even able to win a game."

Ryoma used Drive C again, but this round, Kintarou's power had grown by bounds and leaps just by using Muga no Kyouchi. He returned the shot, and Ryoma had to use his split step again to race after it.

Now Kintarou was over-powered. If Ryoma's match was one-sided before this, it was nothing compared to now. It was just like a match between Tezuka and Horio. Kintarou's attacks were getting fiercer, and Ryoma was having a hard time returning them, and he could barely defend his side of the courts as Kintarou scored repeatedly.

With the state of self actualization, Kintarou was copying a lot of skills. First Ryoma found himself facing Sanada's 'Fire', then he was facing Atobe's Tannhauser, and next was Kikumaru Bazooka followed on by Kamio's Sonic Bullet.

It was a miracle Ryoma even managed to return all of them. He twitched when he saw the Zero-shiki being used as well, but returned it all the same.

When Kintarou did a lob, Ryoma leapt into the air again. He twisted his body in the air slightly and twisted it back around before smashing. This was one of his ultimate skills too. Kintarou tried to use Higuma Otoshi to counter it, but his racket was knocked away.

"Cyclone Smash." Ryoma declared. He at least still had two trump cards against Kintarou. He would not allow himself to lose without winning any games.

Ryoma did manage to win 2 games. Kintarou had not left the state of self-actualization for even one moment. Not that he needed to. His stamina was endless anyway.

"Ne. You don't have the Pinnacle of Perfection, do you?" Kintarou had finally managed to see through his façade. It wasn't too hard for him to do so. If Ryoma really had the skill, there was no way he wouldn't use it, especially if he was losing so badly.

Kintarou gave a laugh. "That's good for me then. Now I can open the final door. It will be a replay of last year's match, except that our positions are reversed this time. Behold, the Pinnacle of Perfection!"

A very strong aura exploded around Kintarou, causing Ryoma to back off slightly. The auras of newborn Pinnacles were always this strong. Ryoma knew that from experience.

"Ahahaha! I've finally managed to master it! There is no other junior high player who can reach my level!" Kintarou cheered.

The aura dimmed a little once the skill had stabilized, and Ryoma noted that instead of surrounding Kintarou's whole form, which was what Ten'i Muhou would have done, the aura was all concentrated around his right arm.

"…that's not the Pinnacle of Perfection…" Ryoma spoke quietly.

He pinned the other player with a stern stare. "That's the Pinnacle of Hard Work."

That seemed to have brought the elated Kintarou crashing back down to earth as his eyes widened. "Not the Pinnacle of Perfection…you're lying…you're lying!" He lost control as he was now a raging demon on the courts, almost like Kirihara Akaya.

All his shots had double the power, and Ryoma was knocked back a few times trying to return the shots. Also, with Kintarou's playstyle becoming wild, Ryoma was slowly being battered up too.

Ryoma was panting, hardly able to stand as one of his knees protested. Momoshiro was already panicking at seeing the captain's condition.

"Someone stop the match before that guy kills buchou! Tezuka! Someone get Tezuka!" Momoshiro yelled to his regulars.

Ryusaki turned around in her seat. "Be quiet, Momoshiro. Why would you want to be bothering Tezuka when he has his own match to play? Besides, even if he comes here, there's nothing he can do anyway." She turned back to the match. While she had sounded calm, in actual fact she too was very worried for Ryoma. She was highly tempted to ask him to forfeit before he had more injuries, but remembered that all her Seigaku regulars were dead stubborn. They would not give up halfway in a match, no matter what.

Kintarou used one of his ultimate skills. Ryoma could recognize that pose anytime, considering it has been haunting him after their match last year. His eyes widened.

"No! Kintarou! Stop now! That skill is dangerous, and with Hyakuren…!" The Shitenhouji coach Osamu stood up and yelled, but his words could not get to the wild type, not when he had already lost control over his senses like this. Seeing that Kintarou wasn't listening, Osamu addressed his regulars, Ryusaki-sensei and the Seigaku regulars. "Take cover!"

"Super Ultra Great Delicious Dairinsha Yama Arashi (S.U.G. D. All-Out Mountain Storm)" Kintarou fired a very destructive shot, which shot towards Echizen with lethal accuracy.

"Echizen!" "Echizen-buchou!" Ryoma could vaguely hear his regulars yelling, but it sounded so far away. The shot hit him, and even as he fell, in what felt like an eternity, memories were starting to return to him. Memories from months ago, which had been sealed away.

He remembered everything…

"_Kunimitsu!" Ryoma had never known true panic, not until that evening, when the car was speeding in the direction of his boyfriend, who was completely oblivious to the danger he was in._

'_Move! Damn it, move!' His brain screamed commands to his body, which seemed to have frozen on the spot._

_In desperation, Ryoma activated the Pinnacle of Perfection, allowing the energy to run through his body, coaxing his legs into action as he charged towards Tezuka, using his one-foot split step._

_Of course, his Ten'i Muhou no Kiwami powered split step was faster than the normal one, and he managed to reach Tezuka in time before shoving him aside._

_He was still in his 'awakened' mode when the car hit him, and his skill deactivated instantly. The bone-crushing pain was so great that Ryoma found himself slipping into unconsciousness almost immediately._

_Then there was darkness. Painless, blissful darkness…_

"Echizen!" Momoshiro looked like he wanted to enter the courts, but Kaidou held him back.

"Stop, Momoshiro. The match hasn't been called off yet."

Ryoma lay on the courts, motionless. The rain continued to fall on his prone body.

The referee was now next to him. "Hey, are you alright? Echizen-kun?" He received no response.

Kintarou turned away. "Call the scores, referee. It's my win." He began to walk out of the courts.

The referee looked down at Ryoma again. He raised a hand. "Seigaku is unable to continue on with the match. The match goes to…"

A burst of golden aura cut him off. The referee backed away from Ryoma, who was slowly getting to his feet again, his whole form surrounded by the golden energy.

"**You still have…lots more to work on.**" Ryoma spoke in English.

This aura was way stronger than Kintarou's newly acquired Pinnacle of Hard Work, proof that this was the ultimate of the three Pinnacles.

The Pinnacle of Perfection was revived!

Ryoma picked up his fallen racket before turning slightly to the referee, pinning him with a golden gaze. "**I'm continuing the match.**"

The match went one-sided again, this round against Kintarou's favour. Both players were now battling it out, Kintarou to end the game, and Ryoma to catch up with the scores.

When Kintarou attempted to return one of the smashes, it had ended up rolling up his racket, and up his arm, heading towards his face. It was only his good reflexes which had saved his head from being hit as he dodged, and the ball shot past his head.

"**That's the real Cool Drive.**" Ryoma said calmly.

Kintarou knew that he couldn't defeat the Cool Drive, and he made sure not to hit any lobs to Ryoma after that.

A small smirk appeared on Ryoma's face. He didn't seem fazed as he aimed for a corner, sending Kintarou that direction. When Kintarou returned it, Ryoma aimed for a different corner instead.

It was only then Kintarou noticed that Ryoma hasn't left the spot at all, as he pivoted on one foot, while the shots kept returning to him. The wild-type gave a snarl, using the Hyakuren to double the spins and cancel it out, canceling Ryoma's Echizen Zone.

Ryoma gave another smirk, switched the racket to his right hand and hit it back. Again, the shots were going back to Ryoma.

Kintarou's eyes widened. Echizen Zone…a double-handed Echizen Zone?! He combined both Nitouryu and Echizen Zone to produce a new skill?

Ryoma managed to overtake Kintarou's scores, and he continued his attack, drawing it out into a rally. While he had the Pinnacle of Perfection, he still had to end this quickly, for he was running out of stamina.

"Super Ultra Great Delicious Dairinsha Yama Arashi" Kintarou used his skill again, and the ball went streaking in Ryoma's direction.

With a slice, Ryoma countered the shot, turning it into a drop shot instead.

Kintarou raced to the net to return it. The minute the ball hit the ground, it did not bounce up, and remained spinning on the spot. The Zero-shiki?

Apparently not. The ball did not roll towards the net. The ball spun another five times, and stopped completely, remaining still.

The rain continued to pour down on them, but it failed to dampen the cheers which had rang through the courts. The game was over. Seigaku had won!

"Kuso!" Kintarou yelled, coming out of his 'awakened' state and entering a childish temper instead.

Ryoma adjusted his cap, the aura around him dimming. "Mada mada dane." He walked back to his teammates.

XXX

"We won! For a moment I thought we were goners there, but we won!" the Seigaku regulars were seen cheering. Even Kaidou was smiling slightly.

"I think I've lost a few years of my life just from watching that match." Momo patted his chest, while Ann chuckled next to him.

"All of you did well. We've managed to emerge champions again, and I'm very proud of you. We should have those injuries of yours looked at, Echizen…Echizen? Oi, where has Echizen gone to?" Ryusaki demanded.

All of them stopped their short celebration for a while as they glanced down at where Echizen was standing some time ago. No sign of the Seigaku captain anyway. His tennis bag was still here though.

"I think the correct question is, '_who_ has Echizen gone to?'" Momoshiro whispered. The others agreed on that.

"Well? Where has Echizen gone to?" Ryusaki asked again.

Nobody answered, as all of them shared knowing grins.

To be continued…

A/N: Finally finished this chapter. Banzai!

The story is finally coming to an end soon. Please note that the next chapter is the last chapter. Look forward to it.

Please excuse me for my rather 'supernatural' matches. I couldn't resist the temptation. (evil grin)

To clear up a few things (especially for those who have not read the manga) earlier in the chapter, Shiraishi had mentioned about one Oshitari Kenya. This is Hyotei's Oshitari Yuushi's cousin. While Yuushi is a tensai, Kenya is a speed-type player.

Also, Kintarou has very bad Japanese, and completely misinterpreted Kenya's words in the manga. Kenya reported that the star freshman from Tokyo "has nerves of steel and is very cocky and he'll stare you down with his san paku gan (the whites of his eyes). Kintarou interpreted it as the star freshman from Tokyo "has a body of steel, his fingers release deadly toxins, and he'll stare you down with his three eyes."

Kintarou's skill was also that destructive in the manga. Osamu did ask everyone to take cover. XD

Oh yes. There is the second version to what actually happened when Ryoma was involved in that accident. I hope it cleared things up as to why he had lost the P.O.P.

Well. That should be all. If I haven't explained something please mention that in your review and I'll try to answer it/put the explanation in the next chapter.

One more thing before I leave. Just out of curiosity, if you were to vote for the next vice-president of Seigaku (after Momo graduates), who will you vote for? Katsuo, Kachiro or Takahiro?

**Please Read and Review. No Flames Please.**

**-Gwyn**


	22. Final Chapter

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. I only own the DVDs of the anime and the OVA.**

**Warning: May contain spoilers for the latest manga chapters. Shonen-ai fic.**

**Pairings: Tezuka X Echizen, Momoshiro X Ann**

**(This chapter comes before chapter 25 of Life After Seigaku)**

A/N: This will be the last chapter for the Echizen, Our Buchou/Life After Seigaku back-to-back fics. It has been a real pleasure writing them, and now that I have to end it, it does feel a little sad. Thank you for reading the two fics. With any luck, the sequel, **Trials of Life**, will be up……eventually.

**forgotteen hyoshi**, one more vote for him as vice-captain. The poor guy is trying hard not to blush behind me, but he's failing. (grins) . So sorry for the late update the last time. As I mentioned, exams. :p

**Quill**, it was very difficult to catch Kintarou's characteristics. He isn't a Kirihara Akaya type (he literally tries to kill his opponents, that one). Kintarou's just very childish…and wild. Hates losing and would do anything to win. Glad he turned out alright. As for Wolfram…not just the eyelashes. His lips, his eyes, even his cheeks have a faint blush on them. I don't think guys are supposed to be _that_ uke. I suppose it is one of the advantages (or disadvantages) to being related to Cheri-sama. XD

**Jenny**, Hmm…about Akutsu, his line ("Do you know who I am? I'm Akutsu, Akutsu Jin") wasn't so much on him telling people his name. It was his way of a threat. From what I've seen, he tended to do that when he thought people are ordering him around. So it's one vote for Takahiro and one vote for Kachiro then. Tezuka as captain and Inui as vice-captain (shudders). The club is going to be scarred for life.

**CECI**, glad you liked the matches. Well, this would be the last chapter.

To the story then…

**Echizen, Our Buchou**

By: Gwynhafra

Chapter 22 (Final Chapter)

The Nationals was over. Everything was back to the normal high school life, and the excitement built up before the matches was gradually dissipating.

The end of the Nationals also meant that the school term was almost over. The third years would be leaving, and the others would be taking their places.

Ryoma strode down the corridors, reading through the club report compiled by both him and Momo-senpai. He would be handing this to Ryusaki-sensei as the club's year end report, informing her about the club's overall performance and progress. So far, it had been consecutive wins for Seigaku, and that should come out quite nicely in the reports. Ryoma daresay there would be more members interested in joining the club next year.

"Ohayou, Echizen-senpai." A first year he didn't recognize greeted him. He looked up from the reports. "Ohayou." He responded automatically before walking on.

"Ah. Echizen-kun." Now it was a bunch of giggling sophomore girls. Ryoma frowned, walking faster, but he noticed quite a number of girls eyeing him. A few brave ones tried to approach him, and he calmly greeted them before trying to make his escape.

He found out what was going on soon enough, for Tomoka was holding a huge banner and recruiting "Ryoma-sama fanclub" members, and the minute she spotted him, she gave a squeal and made a beeline towards him.

Ryoma ran for his life.

Not fast enough though, as he found himself surrounded, with no escape available. Why on earth were his fangirls this aggressive?

"Excuse me, coming through." Momoshiro's voice could be heard amidst all the shrill voices.

Ryoma never thought he'd be more relieved to see his best friend. Momoshiro's tall form made it easy for him to wade through the crowd, and he seized one of Ryoma's hands. "So sorry ladies. Club meeting." With that, he dragged the captain off and both of them ran for it.

"'Takku…why is Tomoka recruiting cheering squad at the end of the year." Ryoma grumbled.

Momoshiro laughed. "You really can't blame her that you have that many fans. I don't think you're even aware of your own popularity. Besides, thanks to your victory in the Nationals, it has become the best advertisement for her recruitment drive."

"What popularity?" Ryoma asked. He didn't keep tabs on anything that wasn't related to tennis.

He was greeted by the sounds of more squealing. "Kyaa! It's the Seigaku captain and vice-captain. Echizen-san is so cool!" They found themselves chased by yet another horde of fangirls.

Both of them managed to race inside Ryusaki-sensei's office. They slammed the door behind them and slumped against it in relief. "Safe!" Both of them declared at the same time.

"I dread the moment when we have to leave this office." Ryoma muttered. That harrowing experience was enough to put him off the female population for life.

Momoshiro snickered. "I could just imagine the look on a certain someone's face if he hears of this. Oh, he's going to be so jealous." He grinned.

Ryoma rewarded him with a glare for that. "Not a word of this to senpai-tachi. Not. A. Word."

They walked over to Ryusaki's place. She had been watching their conversation in amusement, not saying a thing until they stood before her.

"Had a busy day?" She asked, her eyes darted from Ryoma's tousled hair to his blazer. Ryoma followed her gaze and looked down. He gave a yelp when he realized that he had at least three buttons missing.

That caused both Momoshiro and Ryusaki-sensei to laugh. "In spite of them trying to snag the lucky button from your blazer, they missed it though." Ryusaki pointed to Ryoma's second button, which was still intact.

Ryoma frowned. Momoshiro decided to explain. Ryoma had been in America almost all his life. He probably didn't know the Japanese tradition here. "It is common in Japan for a guy to give the second button of his uniform to a girl to denote their relationship. This usually happens at graduation though."

Ryoma gave him an incredulous look. "I'm not the one graduating. They should be popping your buttons instead!"

Momoshiro burst into laughter at that. "I can't help it if I'm not as popular as you are, buchou-sama. Ah how nice, youth…"

Just when Ryoma muttered about Momoshiro being only a year older than him, Ryusaki cleared her throat.

"You should know better than to talk about age in front of someone like me." She warned, with an eyebrow twitching.

Both boys wisely dropped the subject. Ryoma presented her the club reports, and she briefly flipped through them before setting it on the table. She gave a sigh and stood up, turning to look out the window.

"Time sure flies. It's almost the end of the year now. Soon, it'll be graduation day, then the holidays, and once the term has begun, we'll be seeing a whole batch of new members in the club." She turned from the window, facing them. "It's almost the last day of club practice. Echizen, Momo. Have you prepared your speeches yet?"

Momoshiro gave a grin. "I've done mine a long time ago." He announced. Ryoma merely replied with a short, affirmative "usu."

Ryusaki nodded. "Very well. I wouldn't keep you waiting here then." There was a small, evil smile on her face as she noticed a shudder running through Ryoma. He probably wanted to camp out in her office just to avoid his admirers.

Momoshiro had an equally evil grin on his face. "Let's go then, Echizen. Wouldn't want to keep your fans waiting now, would you? I reckon they're looking forward to seizing that button of yours."

"Not if I can help it." Ryoma reached for the second button and, with a swift snap of his wrist, pulled it off. He kept that button safely in one pocket.

Momoshiro snorted. "Ceh. You're such a spoilsport."

With that, he opened the door and was once more thrown into the world of tag with a bunch of rabid admirers.

XXX

The last day of practice was just like any other, except that this round, everyone put all their effort into it, knowing that once today was over, the seniors would be leaving, and they wouldn't have anymore practice until next year.

Ryoma watched his club members. He threw a glance at the first years and was already picking out a few who could potentially be regulars next year. He knew that the club would feel the pinch once Momo, Kaidou, Tsun and Itsuki left, but he was confident that they'd manage, just like they had managed when Kunimitsu and the others left.

Momoshiro, at the moment, was engaging Kaidou in a round of tennis. It was rare for Momo to challenge Kaidou to a match on his own will, considering he hated to approach and speak to the snake shot player. Their matches were usually assigned by Ryoma.

The Seigaku captain smirked slightly. Momoshiro might dislike Kaidou to the end of his guts, but the vice-captain probably knew that this might be the last chance he'd get to face the mamushi. Next year, there was a chance both of them wouldn't end up in the same high school, and Ryoma knew that Momo was going to miss having such a tough rival like Kaidou.

In one of the other courts, Itsuki was having a match with Takahiro. Katsuo and Kachiro were playing doubles against Tsun and, strangely, Arai. The sophomore pair probably wanted to put their differences aside with their senior now that he was graduating.

Ryoma got up from the bench. There was only half an hour left. After that, practice was over and everyone would be going on their own way. He walked over to the courts.

"Momo-senpai, Kaidou-senpai, Tsun-senpai, Itsuki-senpai. Get into court A now." He ordered.

The four who were addressed halted their games. They obeyed, walking towards said court. Momoshiro was massaging his right shoulder. "So the four of us will be playing doubles?"

Echizen shook his head. "No. All four of you will be on one side of the court."

Ryoma picked up his racket and gripped it in his left hand. "You'll be facing me. This is going to be the last chance for me to kick all of your butts, and I'm not going to pass up that opportunity."

Veins popped in the heads of three seniors, while the fourth remained smiling, though the way he held his racket looked a little threatening.

"You're too arrogant, Echizen!"

………………

All too soon to Ryoma's liking, practice was over. The club members assembled before the captain and vice captain. As usual, the regulars stood before the others in a single line.

Ryoma nodded to Momoshiro, indicating for him to speak. Momoshiro cleared his throat. "Well, minna. It's the end of the school year again. It's been a really great time, being in the club with all of you. Thank you all for your cooperation and efforts throughout the year. Seigaku won the Nationals this year. Now let's aim for the next. Seigaku!"

"Fight-o!" The club members were quick to respond.

Ryoma nodded to his club members. "Good work, everybody." He began.

Everyone looked like they had just received an unexpected present. Ryoma rarely praised anyone, preferring to do so with snarky comments even if he opened his mouth. The impact was so strong that all of them gaped at him.

Ryoma's smirk returned to his face. "Of course, under my leadership that's to be expected. You've all done well, and I'm a little…proud of all of you. Overall, your performance this year had been great. Thank you all for giving me your support. Well, compared to me all of you still have a long way to go, but from your overall performance, you're not so mada mada dane after all."

Everyone exchanged looks, not sure if they should hug the captain or throw their shoes at him. Ryoma was probably the only one who could make a compliment sound like an insult at the same time.

Ryoma straightened up. "It is now time to announce the next captain and vice-captain. Ryusaki-sensei, Momo-fukubuchou and I have discussed this, and I have decided to stay on as the captain of Seigaku."

Applause greeted this statement. Ryoma inclined his head slightly and turned to Momo, who was next to speak up.

"The third years will be graduating, and today I shall retire from my position as vice-captain. For the next vice-captain of Seigaku, I have chosen Takahiro Haruka to succeed me."

There was a short moment of silence, then applause broke out again. The Chessmaster remained rooted on the spot, his face blank. His eyes had widened slightly in surprise though.

Itsuki was patting him on the shoulder. "Sugoi, Haruka-chan! You're vice captain! Onii-chan is happy!"

"Oni-chan." Takahiro corrected out of habit.

The sophomore pair could sense the competitive atmosphere in the air as the captain and the future vice-captain were engaged in a staring match. They knew that these two loved to compete be it in exams or tennis. Takahiro was never able to come close to defeating Ryoma in tennis, but Ryoma was never able to defeat Takahiro's History score, and Takahiro provided a challenge when it came to Ryoma's favourite subject-Science.

"There's not going to be a dull moment next year." Kachiro whispered nervously to Katsuo, watching the silent competition already going on between the two.

Momoshiro spoke up again. "Alright. That's all for today's practice. Dismiss."

XXX

A few days later, Momo, Kaidou and the other third years graduated. Ryoma had lingered around, waiting for them to come out of the hall once the ceremony was done.

Momoshiro spotted Ryoma and threw one arm around the captain. "Echizen, have you been waiting?"

"I just happened to be around the area." Ryoma lied.

Momoshiro snorted. He wasn't Ryoma's best friend for nothing, having long learnt to see through Ryoma's poor attempts at bluffing. "Indeed. Well, well, Echizen. Don't cry when I'm gone." He teased.

"Betsuni. Doesn't really matter to me anyway." Ryoma retorted.

Momoshiro grinned. "You're not going to miss me after I'm gone?"

"Nope." Ryoma lied again.

Momoshiro chuckled, not taking offence as he could hear the truth from the tone of Ryoma's voice. "You're not honest at all."

"Momo-senpai!" Katsuo and Kachiro had promptly thrown their arms around the third year.

Those two were not reserved at all about showing emotion, and both of them were bordering on bawling as they clung on to the dunk smash player. "We're going to miss you, Momo-senpai."

Ryoma counted to three, knowing that Momo should be crying after that. That guy was a softie, and would get teary eyed pretty easily. He threw a side glance and surely enough, he noticed Momoshiro's eyes were a little moist.

"Ah. I'll miss the both of you too. Make sure you make it into the regulars again next year." Momo encouraged the two.

Katsuo and Kachiro both nodded fervently. "Hai, Momo-senpai. We will not forget your words."

Ryoma cleared his throat. "Momo-senpai…and Kaidou-senpai…" he had raised his voice slightly at Kaidou's name, catching the snake shot player in his path before he could slink past them.

The anti-social gave a soft hiss and walked over to join them. Ryoma gave them both a steady stare. "Ganbatte, senpai-tachi. Whichever high school the both of you will go to, make sure you don't lose."

Momoshiro couldn't control his emotions at that. He caught Ryoma in a hug and started getting teary-eyed again. "Echizen…I'm going to miss you. Make sure you don't ever forget your senpai."

Kaidou gave a soft 'ch'. "Baka Momoshiro. Getting emotional so easily." He turned to Ryoma. "Ganbatte, Echizen-buchou."

All of them parted ways there. Momoshiro went with Ryoma, walking alongside his best friend as they left school grounds.

"So. You've been mobbed just now?" Ryoma smirked, noticing that Momoshiro's second button was missing.

Momoshiro snorted. "As if. I'm just following your example." He fished out the button from his pocket. He dropped it back into his pocket and turned to Ryoma. "I wonder if it's such a good idea for you to give Tezuka-buchou that…" his voice trailed off at noticing the defiant gleam in Ryoma's eyes.

"Ah…fine, fine. Give it to him then." Momoshiro wondered if he should update Ryoma's knowledge of Japanese tradition. Then again, it should be interesting to picture Tezuka's expression if he received the button. That thought made him grin.

They reached a T-junction. Momoshiro bade his friend goodbye. "I'll be heading to Fudoumine now. Ann's graduation ceremony should have finished by now too. Ja ne, Echizen."

"See you again, Momo-senpai." Ryoma turned and made his way to Kunimitsu's house.

When he reached there, Tezuka's mother greeted him at the door. She shook her head. "Kunimitsu's not in at the moment. I believe he's with his grandfather at the dojo. It's just a short distance behind this house. You wouldn't miss it."

"Is that so? Arigatou, Tezuka-san." He made his way to the dojo.

One of the students there led Ryoma inside. He gave a bow to an elderly man, whom Ryoma guessed was Tezuka's grandfather, owner of the dojo. The man, who looked at least a hundred times more stoic than Kunimitsu, merely gave a nod in greeting to him.

"Kunimitsu's inside trying out his gi (martial arts attire). He should be done by now." The patriarch of the Tezuka household informed him.

"I'll go look for him then. Arigatou." Ryoma was careful to mind his manners, something which he rarely did. The old man gave off a rather intimidating presence, and Ryoma hated to admit it, but he was slightly afraid of him.

He walked into another room, where he found Kunimitsu, who had his back turned to him. Tezuka heard his footsteps and turned around. "Ryoma." He greeted, his gaze warm.

Ryoma was about to open his mouth to say a greeting too, but his eyes had wandered off, and he found himself mute for a moment. He took in Tezuka's appearance appreciatively. He knew that Tezuka took martial arts, but this was the first time Ryoma actually saw him in a white gi. The attire complemented the serious faced captain, giving him the air of a karate master. Ryoma's eyes were fixed on the front of the gi. Tezuka hadn't worn it properly, and a generous amount of his slightly muscled chest was revealed.

'Echizen Ryoma! What do you think you're doing, ogling at him like some kind of pervert? You're not supposed to be the pervert. Only that baka oyaji is!' Ryoma mentally scolded himself. His eyes weren't listening to his command though.

Tezuka caught him staring, and he looked down, noticing his attire. "Ah gomen. The belt is a little loose." He adjusted his clothes, much to Ryoma's disappointment.

Ryoma raised one eyebrow in question, and Tezuka caught on quickly. "I will be helping my grandfather out in the dojo during the holidays, so I'm trying out the clothes today to see if it still fits me. Does it?"

"Perfectly." Ryoma's reply was honest. His Kunimitsu should wear this more often.

Tezuka smiled slightly. "Wait for me a while. We'll return to my house together."

"Usu." Ryoma averted his eyes while Tezuka changed. He knew that once he started looking, he'd faint from a massive blood loss, and that wouldn't be nice.

Tezuka wore his regular clothes, and they returned to Tezuka's house, heading straight for his room. Ryoma made himself comfortable on the floor. He had something he had to speak to Tezuka about the holidays, but first, there was something else he would mention first.

"Kunimitsu. This is for you." Ryoma handed over the button.

Tezuka looked mildly confused. He took it from Ryoma and stared at it, the confusion not leaving his face.

"……a button…so why are you giving this to me?" He asked.

Ryoma's face flushed slightly. "Well…just…giving it to you for safekeeping. It's not like I'm reserving it for you on purpose or something." 'Just trying to make sure those girls wouldn't be able to get their hands on it.'

He realized he had said his thoughts out loud by accident. Tezuka's frown had turned down. "Girls trying to get their hands on it?" He asked, sounding slightly dangerous.

There was a short moment of pause. A look of realization came upon Tezuka's face as he stared down at the button again. "This is the second button of your blazer?" He asked.

"Usu." Why was Tezuka not looking pleased at all?

Tezuka's expression was neutral, not giving away his thoughts. After a while, he turned back to Ryoma and gave a nod. "I'll keep this then."

Ryoma breathed a sigh of relief. He sat up straighter. "One more thing, Kunimitsu. Go on a date with me this Saturday."

Tezuka raised an eyebrow at that. After a while, he smiled. "And what's the occasion?"

"Do we need one to go on a date?" Ryoma asked.

Tezuka ruffled his hair. "Definitely not. Say, Ryoma. If one of the girls had gotten that button, would you have taken her on that date instead?"

Ryoma snorted. "She can swallow the button for all I care. You're the only one I love."

By the time Ryoma realized he had spoken his thoughts again, it was already too late. He turned a deep shade of red, feeling completely embarrassed by his unintentional confession.

Tezuka stared at him for a while. After some time, a soft chuckle escaped Tezuka's lips. Ryoma's face flushed even more when he realized that Tezuka was laughing.

"What's so funny?" He retorted, the defiance coming back in his voice. Somehow, Tezuka's presence was enough to throw his usual, apathetic character out of the window.

Tezuka shook his head slightly. "I was just thinking. You're really too cute, Ryoma." He held Ryoma's chin gently and leaned forward.

Ryoma anticipated the kiss eagerly. Before their lips could meet, however, Ryoma could hear someone walking up the stairs. With a yelp, he shoved Tezuka away from him, just moments before the room's door opened.

"I have some drinks here, Echizen-kun." Tezuka's mother smiled at him. She set the tray down on Tezuka's desk.

"Arigatou." Ryoma took two glasses, one for him and one for Kunimitsu. He drained his glass and set it back down. "I'll be going now. Thanks for your hospitality, Tezuka-san." He remembered his manners.

"It was my pleasure." She responded.

Ryoma gave an apologetic smile to his boyfriend. "I'll see you on Saturday then."

"Aa." Tezuka walked him out. They paused at the doorway briefly. "Gomen, the mood was ruined." Tezuka apologized.

Ryoma shrugged. "We still have that date to look forward to anyway."

XXX

Ryoma had insisted that they spent the day together. He didn't tell Kunimitsu, but this round they'd be following the latter's pace. It would be the last date they'd be having in a while, and Ryoma wanted it to be memorable.

He waited at least fifteen minutes before the appointed time, something he rarely did in his entire lifetime. Tezuka arrived five minutes before the appointed time, and he raised an eyebrow at seeing Ryoma there before him.

"Have you been waiting long?" Tezuka asked.

Ryoma shook his head. He straightened up and walked closer to Tezuka. "Shall we leave?"

"Aa." Tezuka led the way to the amusement park. While Ryoma had asked Tezuka to bring him to all his favourite places, Tezuka still couldn't help thinking of Ryoma's favourite places instead. Both of them agreed that for once, they wouldn't let tennis dominate their date, and instead make that day a tennis-free day, spending time with each other instead. Tezuka knew that aside from the tennis courts, Ryoma was quite fond of this place too, after the video arcade, of course.

Ryoma hadn't really thought of Tezuka being a person to frequent this place. He was right, for Tezuka looked just as out of place here as he was in the video game centre. For Tezuka's sake, Ryoma hardly went on any of the rides, preferring to walk alongside Tezuka. Occasionally the cap-wearing boy would drag Tezuka over to the booths to have a game or two. So far, none of them had won anything yet.

Ryoma couldn't resist suggesting to Tezuka to try out one of the thrill rides. An evil part of him wanted to see what a terrified Tezuka might look like. For someone like Tezuka, who had not been to these places before, there was no way he'd have braced himself for the scares.

Tezuka agreed, of course, and Ryoma threw a sideglance at his boyfriend when the roller coaster made a plunge. To his disappointment, but not his surprise, his boyfriend remained as poker faced as ever, his expression unchanging even as everyone around them was screaming in fright.

Once they've exited, Ryoma stared up at his boyfriend. "You're pretty brave. Most first timers on that roller coaster would have been screaming their lungs out."

Tezuka merely gave him a blank look. "Was I supposed to? It was fun." Tezuka was looking around, frowning slightly. After a while, he noticed Ryoma's questioning gaze and shook his head. "It's nothing." He said.

Ryoma dragged him to the bumper cars next. That was one more game where Tezuka had a different reaction than other people. Everyone else was trying to bump into other cars. Tezuka was driving to _avoid_ bumping at all costs, and every time someone did bump into him, he gave the offender his 'buchou-stare', and no one else had the guts to repeat that mistake again.

Ryoma did manage to target Tezuka a few times, but his success rate of bumping into his car was very low, for Tezuka was able to swerve his car away, avoiding a collision most of the time. Ryoma had to fight down a laugh. His boyfriend was so uptight, it was endearing.

Tezuka relaxed when they went on a tamer ride, the Ferris Wheel. Both of them sat facing each other. Ryoma took his boyfriend's hand. "You don't look like you enjoy this place. Maybe we should go elsewhere?"

Tezuka shook his head. "I am enjoying myself. This is time spent with you after all." He reassured, smiling slightly.

Ryoma adjusted his cap, hiding his face. "So cheesy, Kunimitsu." He teased.

"I was only being honest." Tezuka gave Ryoma's hand a squeeze.

They broke apart when their gondola came to a halt, and they were to leave it. Ryoma decided they had time for at least one more game at the booth before leaving for lunch.

"How about this one?" Ryoma asked, pointing to a game where they were to hit the cans down.

Tezuka nodded. "It's fine with me."

Ryoma picked up the bat. He tested his grip for a while before throwing the ball into the air. He swung the bat and hit the ball, which flew to the target dead on and hit one of the cans down. He repeated the action a few more times, and each time, the cans were knocked down.

When the man at the counter wanted to give him a prize, however, he shook his head. "It's alright. How about substituting the prize for a free game every time we win instead?"

Seemingly feeling that it was an interesting bargain, the man at the counter allowed them to do so, and the next game was taken by Tezuka, who, like Ryoma, didn't lose any of his points, knocking all the cans down. In fact, both of them started a silent competition against each other, and did not realize they were attracting a crowd to the booth.

Both of them eyed the last can. "Whoever is the one to knock it down is the winner." Ryoma smirked. Tezuka's glasses glinted, and both of them threw the balls into the air and served.

Tezuka's high speed serve proved useful, and his shot reached the can first, knocking it down. Ryoma gave a slight smile and lowered the bat. "Ceh. I was so close."

The both of them looked up when they heard applause, and only then did they notice the crowd. Ryoma adjusted his cap to hide his face, while Tezuka returned the bats to the owner of the booth.

The man insisted on giving Tezuka a plush toy as his gratitude for the two's (unintentional) free advertising. Ryoma made a face when Tezuka handed the monkey plush toy to him. However, he brightened up when he thought of Karupin enjoying the toy later, so he accepted the toy without much complaint.

Before both of them could leave the booth, a few girls spotted them and squealed. "Kyaa! It's Kanto High's Tezuka Kunimitsu and Seishun Gakuen's Echizen Ryoma! Sugoi!"

"What luck to spot them both here. Senior high tennis' number one and junior high's number one! I want their autographs!"

That seemed to ring a bell with a lot of people, especially since the Nationals was only a few weeks back. The two captains found themselves chased by a raging stampede of all genders, shapes and sizes.

"Fans…they're the same everywhere." Ryoma sighed.

Tezuka's expression didn't change. "Yudan sezu ni ikkou."

XXX

Some time later, the pair arrived, out of breath, at Kawamura Sushi. The sushi business heir glanced up when he saw them enter. "Welcome." He said, watching as they plopped themselves down into the seats before him.

"Had a bad day?" Kawamura couldn't help asking.

"Fans." Ryoma muttered, and Kawamura nodded in understanding.

"Anything I can get the both of you?" He asked.

"Set B/D" Tezuka and Ryoma said at the same time, ordering the set which was the other's favourite. Set B was a grilled fish set, while Set D was an Unacha set.

Kawamura smiled. These two had not changed at all. They ordered each other's favourite food first before ordering their own. "Hai. It'll be served in a while." He promised.

Just when he headed towards the kitchens, someone else walked out at the same time. To Ryoma's surprise, it was Ryusaki's granddaughter.

"Sakuno?" What was she doing in the kitchens?

She spotted him and flushed slightly. "Ah. Ryoma-kun. Tezuka-senpai."

Sensing both of their questioning gazes, she bowed her head slightly. "I've been asking Kawamura-senpai if I could help out in his father's shop during the holidays. There were many recipes which I wish to learn, and this is a good experience."

"Oh? Ganbatte." He noted that she wasn't stammering so badly in his presence now. This was interesting.

Kawamura emerged from the kitchens. "So sorry for the wait. Set B and Set D." He placed the dishes in front of the two. He pointed to the two extra cucumber rolls on each plate. "Ryusaki-chan made these."

"Is that so?" He picked up one of the cucumber rolls and popped it into his mouth. Sakuno had made him a lot of bentos before this, but he had never really tasted the food, since she always gave it to him when his mind was preoccupied. Now was one of the few times he actually tasted it.

"It's good." He said shortly. Tezuka gave an affirmative nod, agreeing to his statement.

Sakuno beamed. "Arigatou. It's all thanks to Kawamura-senpai's recipes."

"What are you talking about, Ryusaki-chan? You have talent at making sushi." Kawamura said modestly.

Sakuno blushed at that and shook her head. "N-no. Kawamura-senpai has far more experience at making sushi than me. Th-thank you for teaching me."

Ryoma's hand halted at the next cucumber roll. Sakuno was stuttering in Kawamura's presence. That was interesting indeed. He exchanged looks with Tezuka, wondering if his boyfriend had noticed.

He popped the next roll into his mouth and chewed leisurely. Moments later, he began to make choking sounds.

"Ryoma?" Tezuka was instantly alert, patting his back and handing him a cup of tea.

Ryoma's eyes were streaming. "Kawamura-senpai…that was a wasabi roll…" he managed to choke out, gratefully accepting the cup from Tezuka.

Sakuno turned crimson. "Ah. So sorry. I must have accidentally taken one from the wasabi sushi pile instead. Really sorry, Ryoma-kun."

Kawamura patted her on the shoulder. "It's alright, Ryusaki-chan. People make mistakes. Right, Echizen?"

"Usu…" Ryoma muttered weakly once he had stopped coughing. Tezuka had helped him finish the rest of the wasabi roll, his face unchanging. Ryoma couldn't help wondering if it was because Tezuka had so much practice with his favourite wasabi sushi punishment that he had some immunity towards the spicy delicacy. Either that or Ryoma was dating a monster.

XXX

The next part of the date was according to Tezuka's pace. They went hiking, since that was one of Tezuka's hobbies. Shortly after lunch, the two bade Kawamura farewell and headed to the same hill which Oishi had taken them to watch the sunrise last year.

Both of them boarded the tram, which took them to the halfway point before they hiked the rest of the hill by foot.

Along the way, Tezuka was pointing out names of plants, which Ryoma couldn't really keep track of since he was bad with names. Still, he allowed Tezuka to speak, liking the sound of his voice. Excitement shone in those light brown eyes. Ryoma mused that so simple an activity such as hiking could make Tezuka this happy. Maybe they should go hiking more often.

"We've almost reached the top. Come on, Ryoma." Tezuka, for once, sounded almost child-like as he jogged the rest of the way, with Ryoma following close behind. During one particular steep climb, Tezuka extended his hand and helped Ryoma up. Both of them had finally reached the top, and they stood side by side, looking out at the city below them.

"We've reached, Kunimitsu." Ryoma leaned against him. It was only the two of them on the hill, and he enjoyed the silence.

"Aa." Tezuka ran his hands through Ryoma's hair. He glanced down at the monkey plushie, which was still in Ryoma's hands.

"What are you going to do with that?" Tezuka asked curiously.

Ryoma had a slight smirk on his face as he lifted the plushie before his face. "That's easy. I'm going to name it Atobe, then I'm going to let Karupin tear it up."

There was a rustle from one of the bushes. Ryoma glanced at it, frowning. The bushes rustled again, and it was only then did Ryoma realize it was windy.

Tezuka had noticed it first, and he took off his jacket, wrapping it around Ryoma's shoulders. Ryoma gave a happy sigh as Tezuka wrapped his arms around him, feeling both warm and protected. He was going to sorely miss Tezuka.

Tezuka seemed to sense his disquiet, for the older captain turned him around and studied his face. "What's wrong, Ryoma?"

Ryoma shook his head. He'd wait until the end of the day to tell Tezuka. For now, nothing would ruin their date. "It's nothing." He smiled, trying to reassure his boyfriend.

Tezuka seemed to know that Ryoma would tell him when he felt like it, and planted a kiss on his forehead. "If you say so."

The two enjoyed a moment of companionable silence. Even though they weren't striking a conversation, Ryoma felt that he wouldn't trade their time alone for anything in the world. Not even tennis. It was just him and his boyfriend. No one else to ruin the moment.

Feeling suddenly affectionate, Ryoma glanced up at the older boy, noting that Tezuka was watching him. Gently, he pulled Tezuka's head down and moved forward, their faces only inches apart. Just a bit more…

"Yes! Go ochibi!"

Both of them froze. Nope. They weren't alone after all.

"Kikumaru, 100 laps!" Tezuka roared. Ryoma released his boyfriend and stepped away. His eyes narrowed when he spotted a whole group of intruders on his private date with Kunimitsu. He wasn't surprised to see Oishi there (since Kikumaru was there), less so to see Fuji, with his cursed camera in hand. Inui was there, scribbling madly, and strangely enough, the monkey king was there too.

As his angry boyfriend dealt with his teammates, Atobe had managed to slink off and was now facing Ryoma instead. "I demand that you do not use my name on so rugged a toy." He pointed to the monkey plushie.

Ryoma smirked. "Hmm? I guess I can call it monkey king instead then. My cat wouldn't be picky, whatever the name is."

Atobe eyes flashed. "Such bravery. Are you trying to challenge ore-sama?"

"I'd say the same, with you being such a busybody and stalking us like that." Ryoma countered.

Somehow, that started a glaring competition between the two of them which would have put the rivals Momo and Kaidou to shame, had they been here. Tezuka had to diffuse it before both of them started a round of rock, scissors, and paper.

"We're leaving." Tezuka said curtly. There was hidden warning in his tone, which all of them picked up, since not even Fuji or Inui trailed after them anymore.

Ryoma glanced up at his boyfriend. "I guess that's it for today?" He asked.

"Aa." Tezuka agreed.

XXX

It was evening by the time both of them headed back to their houses. Tezuka walked Ryoma home first. As they crossed one of the overhead bridges, Tezuka halted in his steps.

"Ryoma…actually, about the holidays. I wouldn't be able to go with you on a date so often. As I've mentioned earlier, I will be helping my grandfather out during the holidays."

Tezuka sighed. "My grandfather has already instructed me to deal with one of his classes once the holidays began. He had only retired from the police dojo a year back, and had opened this dojo so that he can continue on his passion for martial arts, while taking it easy. He had his hands full currently, and he will need all the help I can give him."

Tezuka had his eyes fixed on Ryoma's face, watching him closely for his reaction. Ryoma knew that his boyfriend was probably afraid of him being upset by the news, or looking disappointed.

Ryoma snorted. As if he'd blame his boyfriend for being filial. He took Tezuka's hand. "It's my turn to drop the bomb on you. I'm afraid this will be the last date we'll be having in a while, Kunimitsu."

Tezuka had tensed slightly at that. Ryoma could see slight fear in his boyfriend's eyes. He gave a soft laugh. "I'm not breaking up with you, silly. During the holidays, my family will be returning to America. We do that at the end of each year."

Tezuka was silent for a moment. "I see."

Ryoma wasn't too sure what to make of Tezuka's silence. He searched his boyfriend's face, hoping to guess what was on his mind. "We'll keep in contact via-email, just like last year. Try to refrain from making international calls. If I remember correctly, you were nearly slaughtered by your grandfather for it." Ryoma teased.

Tezuka nodded, indicating that he understood. For a while, both said nothing, lost in their own thoughts.

"Ne, Ryoma." Tezuka was the one who began speaking again.

Ryoma turned to glance up at him. Tezuka was smiling slightly, his gaze warm. "This was how it all began, wasn't it? Us."

Ryoma nodded. He remembered that Tezuka was the one to make the first move, and their relationship started from there. A year had flown by so quickly.

He recalled he wasn't the best boyfriend in the start of their relationship, and while they had a rocky start, their relationship had persevered.

"We sure have come a long way, Kunimitsu." Ryoma said softly.

"Aa." Tezuka agreed.

Ryoma pondered a while. "Ne, Kunimitsu. What do you think our relationship will be like in the future?"

There was a short pause. "I don't know." Tezuka finally said.

Ryoma couldn't help feeling disappointed. Did that mean there was no future for their relationship, or no relationship in the future?

Tezuka wrapped an arm around his shoulder, pulling him out of his thoughts. "Whatever the future is like for us, we'll walk together, one step at a time."

Ryoma was considerably cheered by that. There was a future for them after all. It was their promise.

"Usu." Their interlinked hands held fast, sealing the vow.

**The End**

A/N: That's all for Echizen, Our Buchou. If you haven't done so, read Life After Seigaku. There is a surprise at the end of the Author's Note. (grins)

Ohohoho! It's the last chapter and I didn't let them kiss at all. I am evil. Ohohoho!

To clarify, I've mentioned above that Ryoma's fav subject is Science. If I'm not mistaken, he performs exceedingly well at English, but his fav subject is Science. If I'm wrong, please correct me.

Also, I found out about the button giving tradition from the show Ichigo 100 percent. Did I get it right?

Should I put up a sequel? Please state that in your reviews.

Last but not least, **Please Read and Review. No Flames Please.**

-Gwyn


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